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 | 68,946 | 75.82% | 71,263 | 73.45% |
| Spanish | 20,072 | 22.07% | 24,188 | 24.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,133 | 1.25% | 906 | 0.93% |
| Asian Language** | 725 | 0.80% | 586 | 0.60% |
| Other | 57 | 0.06% | 76 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 90,933 | 100.00% | 97,019 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 7,705 | 31.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 200 | 22.08% |
| Asian Language** | 193 | 32.94% |
| Other Language | 12 | 15.79% |
| Total | 8,110 | 8.36% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 7,873 | 39.22% |
| Other Indo-European* | 216 | 19.06% |
| Asian Language** | 312 | 43.03% |
| Other Language | 12 | 21.05% |
| Total | 8,413 | 9.25% |
* "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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