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 | 33,519 | 96.49% | 36,841 | 93.34% |
| Spanish | 687 | 1.98% | 1,834 | 4.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 405 | 1.17% | 596 | 1.51% |
| Asian Language** | 42 | 0.12% | 94 | 0.24% |
| Other | 87 | 0.25% | 105 | 0.27% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 34,740 | 100.00% | 39,470 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 730 | 39.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 151 | 25.34% |
| Asian Language** | 23 | 24.47% |
| Other Language | 63 | 60.00% |
| Total | 967 | 2.45% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 228 | 33.19% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 31.36% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 30 | 34.48% |
| Total | 406 | 1.17% |
* "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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