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 | 41,986 | 96.59% | 49,062 | 94.97% |
| Spanish | 370 | 0.85% | 970 | 1.88% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,027 | 2.36% | 1,431 | 2.77% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 0.06% | 65 | 0.13% |
| Other | 59 | 0.14% | 131 | 0.25% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 43,468 | 100.00% | 51,659 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 386 | 39.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 557 | 38.92% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 38.46% |
| Other Language | 51 | 38.93% |
| Total | 1,019 | 1.97% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 104 | 28.11% |
| Other Indo-European* | 271 | 26.39% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 38.46% |
| Other Language | 20 | 33.90% |
| Total | 405 | 0.93% |
* "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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