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 | 25,302 | 94.66% | 26,964 | 90.16% |
| Spanish | 1,103 | 4.13% | 2,608 | 8.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 251 | 0.94% | 200 | 0.67% |
| Asian Language** | 51 | 0.19% | 111 | 0.37% |
| Other | 23 | 0.09% | 25 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 26,730 | 100.00% | 29,908 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,272 | 48.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 44 | 22.00% |
| Asian Language** | 54 | 48.65% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,370 | 4.58% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 593 | 53.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 45 | 17.93% |
| Asian Language** | 13 | 25.49% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 651 | 2.44% |
* "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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