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 | 132,622 | 97.65% | 149,583 | 96.69% |
| Spanish | 1,154 | 0.85% | 2,619 | 1.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,566 | 1.15% | 1,851 | 1.20% |
| Asian Language** | 370 | 0.27% | 439 | 0.28% |
| Other | 106 | 0.08% | 219 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 135,818 | 100.00% | 154,711 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,141 | 43.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 467 | 25.23% |
| Asian Language** | 223 | 50.80% |
| Other Language | 49 | 22.37% |
| Total | 1,880 | 1.22% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 414 | 35.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 489 | 31.23% |
| Asian Language** | 158 | 42.70% |
| Other Language | 22 | 20.75% |
| Total | 1,083 | 0.80% |
* "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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