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 | 82,747 | 97.96% | 96,359 | 96.33% |
| Spanish | 962 | 1.14% | 2,159 | 2.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 563 | 0.67% | 822 | 0.82% |
| Asian Language** | 164 | 0.19% | 546 | 0.55% |
| Other | 32 | 0.04% | 143 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 84,468 | 100.00% | 100,029 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 986 | 45.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 234 | 28.47% |
| Asian Language** | 230 | 42.12% |
| Other Language | 23 | 16.08% |
| Total | 1,473 | 1.47% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 364 | 37.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 144 | 25.58% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 76.83% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 634 | 0.75% |
* "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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