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 | 23,675 | 96.43% | 24,549 | 97.03% |
| Spanish | 212 | 0.86% | 247 | 0.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 560 | 2.28% | 434 | 1.72% |
| Asian Language** | 46 | 0.19% | 46 | 0.18% |
| Other | 59 | 0.24% | 25 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 24,552 | 100.00% | 25,301 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 78 | 31.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 111 | 25.58% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 56.52% |
| Other Language | 4 | 16.00% |
| Total | 219 | 0.87% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 59 | 27.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 109 | 19.46% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 23.91% |
| Other Language | 18 | 30.51% |
| Total | 197 | 0.80% |
* "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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