The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 137,433 | 92.53% | 122,532 | 84.38% |
| Spanish | 6,895 | 4.64% | 18,456 | 12.71% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,627 | 1.77% | 1,722 | 1.19% |
| Asian Language** | 1,284 | 0.86% | 2,092 | 1.44% |
| Other | 292 | 0.20% | 418 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 148,531 | 100.00% | 145,220 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 11,156 | 60.45% |
| Other Indo-European* | 548 | 31.82% |
| Asian Language** | 1,092 | 52.20% |
| Other Language | 158 | 37.80% |
| Total | 12,954 | 8.92% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,554 | 37.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 750 | 28.55% |
| Asian Language** | 814 | 63.40% |
| Other Language | 52 | 17.81% |
| Total | 4,170 | 2.81% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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