Census Trend Charts Demographic Maps Rankings & Comparisons Segregation Data  

Zoom in and out of geography at levels: US, States or Metro Areas, and Counties within States.

You can zoom out to United States


Visit the SSDAN Web Site
CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.

Great Falls, MT

Print-Friendly Version

LANGUAGE

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 68,037 95.30% 71,193 94.92%
Spanish 685 0.96% 1,286 1.71%
Other Indo-European* 1,754 2.46% 1,796 2.39%
Asian Language** 639 0.90% 442 0.59%
Other 275 0.39% 285 0.38%
Total Population Age 5+ 71,390 100.00% 75,002 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 330 25.66%
Other Indo-European* 547 30.46%
Asian Language** 154 34.84%
Other Language 90 31.58%
Total 1,121 1.49%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 170 24.82%
Other Indo-European* 549 31.30%
Asian Language** 210 32.86%
Other Language 48 17.45%
Total 977 1.37%

* "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).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy