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 | 67,186 | 96.29% | 102,487 | 94.64% |
| Spanish | 1,173 | 1.68% | 3,582 | 3.31% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,096 | 1.57% | 1,532 | 1.41% |
| Asian Language** | 203 | 0.29% | 500 | 0.46% |
| Other | 115 | 0.16% | 192 | 0.18% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,773 | 100.00% | 108,293 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,574 | 43.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 286 | 18.67% |
| Asian Language** | 191 | 38.20% |
| Other Language | 12 | 6.25% |
| Total | 2,063 | 1.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 438 | 37.34% |
| Other Indo-European* | 256 | 23.36% |
| Asian Language** | 133 | 65.52% |
| Other Language | 13 | 11.30% |
| Total | 840 | 1.20% |
* "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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