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 | 76,359 | 93.17% | 80,554 | 92.15% |
| Spanish | 1,653 | 2.02% | 2,259 | 2.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,491 | 3.04% | 2,812 | 3.22% |
| Asian Language** | 1,396 | 1.70% | 1,653 | 1.89% |
| Other | 58 | 0.07% | 138 | 0.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 81,957 | 100.00% | 87,416 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 677 | 29.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 561 | 19.95% |
| Asian Language** | 852 | 51.54% |
| Other Language | 53 | 38.41% |
| Total | 2,143 | 2.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 485 | 29.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 553 | 22.20% |
| Asian Language** | 598 | 42.84% |
| Other Language | 31 | 53.45% |
| Total | 1,667 | 2.03% |
* "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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