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 | 14,114 | 98.01% | 15,761 | 96.71% |
| Spanish | 170 | 1.18% | 128 | 0.79% |
| Other Indo-European* | 99 | 0.69% | 360 | 2.21% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 0.01% | 25 | 0.15% |
| Other | 16 | 0.11% | 23 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,401 | 100.00% | 16,297 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 44 | 34.38% |
| Other Indo-European* | 199 | 55.28% |
| Asian Language** | 3 | 12.00% |
| Other Language | 3 | 13.04% |
| Total | 249 | 1.53% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 99 | 58.24% |
| Other Indo-European* | 22 | 22.22% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 100.00% |
| Other Language | 5 | 31.25% |
| Total | 128 | 0.89% |
* "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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