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 | 73,309 | 98.37% | 80,746 | 97.51% |
| Spanish | 712 | 0.96% | 1,113 | 1.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 339 | 0.45% | 721 | 0.87% |
| Asian Language** | 131 | 0.18% | 214 | 0.26% |
| Other | 34 | 0.05% | 11 | 0.01% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 74,525 | 100.00% | 82,805 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 525 | 47.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 286 | 39.67% |
| Asian Language** | 75 | 35.05% |
| Other Language | 3 | 27.27% |
| Total | 889 | 1.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 206 | 28.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 75 | 22.12% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 34.35% |
| Other Language | 22 | 64.71% |
| Total | 348 | 0.47% |
* "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