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 | 51,309 | 96.95% | 75,062 | 94.81% |
| Spanish | 744 | 1.41% | 1,993 | 2.52% |
| Other Indo-European* | 513 | 0.97% | 1,048 | 1.32% |
| Asian Language** | 260 | 0.49% | 881 | 1.11% |
| Other | 95 | 0.18% | 191 | 0.24% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 52,921 | 100.00% | 79,175 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 773 | 38.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 205 | 19.56% |
| Asian Language** | 510 | 57.89% |
| Other Language | 79 | 41.36% |
| Total | 1,567 | 1.98% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 177 | 23.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 152 | 29.63% |
| Asian Language** | 112 | 43.08% |
| Other Language | 19 | 20.00% |
| Total | 460 | 0.87% |
* "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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