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 | 30,420 | 89.39% | 32,870 | 86.35% |
| Spanish | 2,545 | 7.48% | 4,232 | 11.12% |
| Other Indo-European* | 290 | 0.85% | 313 | 0.82% |
| Asian Language** | 153 | 0.45% | 119 | 0.31% |
| Other | 622 | 1.83% | 531 | 1.39% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,030 | 100.00% | 38,065 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,937 | 45.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 96 | 30.67% |
| Asian Language** | 53 | 44.54% |
| Other Language | 128 | 24.11% |
| Total | 2,214 | 5.82% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,131 | 44.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 73 | 25.17% |
| Asian Language** | 85 | 55.56% |
| Other Language | 167 | 26.85% |
| Total | 1,456 | 4.28% |
* "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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