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 | 42,669 | 96.51% | 49,455 | 88.78% |
| Spanish | 1,045 | 2.36% | 5,604 | 10.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 410 | 0.93% | 375 | 0.67% |
| Asian Language** | 63 | 0.14% | 198 | 0.36% |
| Other | 27 | 0.06% | 76 | 0.14% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 44,214 | 100.00% | 55,708 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 3,282 | 58.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 106 | 28.27% |
| Asian Language** | 113 | 57.07% |
| Other Language | 50 | 65.79% |
| Total | 3,551 | 6.37% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 494 | 47.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 185 | 45.12% |
| Asian Language** | 25 | 39.68% |
| Other Language | 9 | 33.33% |
| Total | 713 | 1.61% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy