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 | 23,379 | 91.40% | 35,725 | 91.22% |
| Spanish | 1,223 | 4.78% | 2,327 | 5.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 696 | 2.72% | 731 | 1.87% |
| Asian Language** | 46 | 0.18% | 214 | 0.55% |
| Other | 235 | 0.92% | 167 | 0.43% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 25,579 | 100.00% | 39,164 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,182 | 50.80% |
| Other Indo-European* | 129 | 17.65% |
| Asian Language** | 108 | 50.47% |
| Other Language | 37 | 22.16% |
| Total | 1,456 | 3.72% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 432 | 35.32% |
| Other Indo-European* | 180 | 25.86% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 28.26% |
| Other Language | 63 | 26.81% |
| Total | 688 | 2.69% |
* "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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