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 | 61,483 | 94.57% | 63,647 | 93.77% |
| Spanish | 727 | 1.12% | 1,245 | 1.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,479 | 3.81% | 2,372 | 3.49% |
| Asian Language** | 221 | 0.34% | 492 | 0.72% |
| Other | 101 | 0.16% | 122 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 65,011 | 100.00% | 67,878 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 385 | 30.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 753 | 31.75% |
| Asian Language** | 226 | 45.93% |
| Other Language | 29 | 23.77% |
| Total | 1,393 | 2.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 199 | 27.37% |
| Other Indo-European* | 431 | 17.39% |
| Asian Language** | 123 | 55.66% |
| Other Language | 11 | 10.89% |
| Total | 764 | 1.18% |
* "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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