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 | 61,321 | 97.61% | 80,380 | 97.06% |
| Spanish | 662 | 1.05% | 1,284 | 1.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 598 | 0.95% | 758 | 0.92% |
| Asian Language** | 188 | 0.30% | 287 | 0.35% |
| Other | 52 | 0.08% | 104 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 62,821 | 100.00% | 82,813 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 475 | 36.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 176 | 23.22% |
| Asian Language** | 89 | 31.01% |
| Other Language | 50 | 48.08% |
| Total | 790 | 0.95% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 189 | 28.55% |
| Other Indo-European* | 182 | 30.43% |
| Asian Language** | 118 | 62.77% |
| Other Language | 8 | 15.38% |
| Total | 497 | 0.79% |
* "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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