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 | 26,206 | 94.45% | 29,316 | 95.40% |
| Spanish | 359 | 1.29% | 394 | 1.28% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,092 | 3.94% | 748 | 2.43% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 0.19% | 252 | 0.82% |
| Other | 37 | 0.13% | 21 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 27,747 | 100.00% | 30,731 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 93 | 23.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 140 | 18.72% |
| Asian Language** | 84 | 33.33% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 317 | 1.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 102 | 28.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 249 | 22.80% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 43.40% |
| Other Language | 18 | 48.65% |
| Total | 392 | 1.41% |
* "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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