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 | 31,544 | 70.29% | 33,377 | 69.61% |
| Spanish | 13,012 | 29.00% | 13,995 | 29.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 222 | 0.49% | 394 | 0.82% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 0.07% | 101 | 0.21% |
| Other | 64 | 0.14% | 85 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,875 | 100.00% | 47,952 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,364 | 31.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 147 | 37.31% |
| Asian Language** | 43 | 42.57% |
| Other Language | 6 | 7.06% |
| Total | 4,560 | 9.51% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,940 | 37.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 66 | 29.73% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 69.70% |
| Other Language | 21 | 32.81% |
| Total | 5,050 | 11.25% |
* "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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