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 | 25,352 | 97.25% | 25,749 | 97.28% |
| Spanish | 226 | 0.87% | 312 | 1.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 404 | 1.55% | 335 | 1.27% |
| Asian Language** | 58 | 0.22% | 52 | 0.20% |
| Other | 30 | 0.12% | 22 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 26,070 | 100.00% | 26,470 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 77 | 24.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 110 | 32.84% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 61.54% |
| Other Language | 3 | 13.64% |
| Total | 222 | 0.84% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 71 | 31.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 72 | 17.82% |
| Asian Language** | 34 | 58.62% |
| Other Language | 5 | 16.67% |
| Total | 182 | 0.70% |
* "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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