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 | 19,588 | 87.81% | 22,385 | 90.21% |
| Spanish | 67 | 0.30% | 173 | 0.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,606 | 11.68% | 2,168 | 8.74% |
| Asian Language** | 29 | 0.13% | 77 | 0.31% |
| Other | 17 | 0.08% | 10 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 22,307 | 100.00% | 24,813 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 31 | 17.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 480 | 22.14% |
| Asian Language** | 41 | 53.25% |
| Other Language | 2 | 20.00% |
| Total | 554 | 2.23% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8 | 11.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 629 | 24.14% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 7 | 41.18% |
| Total | 644 | 2.89% |
* "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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