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 | 22,125 | 98.25% | 25,142 | 97.34% |
| Spanish | 209 | 0.93% | 203 | 0.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 165 | 0.73% | 394 | 1.53% |
| Asian Language** | 15 | 0.07% | 55 | 0.21% |
| Other | 5 | 0.02% | 36 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 22,519 | 100.00% | 25,830 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 69 | 33.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 178 | 45.18% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 18.18% |
| Other Language | 5 | 13.89% |
| Total | 262 | 1.01% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 69 | 33.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 68 | 41.21% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 137 | 0.61% |
* "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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