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 | 168,192 | 78.82% | 173,472 | 72.21% |
| Spanish | 33,281 | 15.60% | 53,314 | 22.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 7,154 | 3.35% | 7,914 | 3.29% |
| Asian Language** | 4,053 | 1.90% | 4,850 | 2.02% |
| Other | 720 | 0.34% | 683 | 0.28% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 213,400 | 100.00% | 240,233 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 30,251 | 56.74% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,827 | 23.09% |
| Asian Language** | 2,128 | 43.88% |
| Other Language | 193 | 28.26% |
| Total | 34,399 | 14.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 19,234 | 57.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,832 | 25.61% |
| Asian Language** | 2,038 | 50.28% |
| Other Language | 244 | 33.89% |
| Total | 23,348 | 10.94% |
* "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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