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 | 15,003 | 98.01% | 16,571 | 97.05% |
| Spanish | 117 | 0.76% | 344 | 2.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 155 | 1.01% | 136 | 0.80% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 0.20% | 10 | 0.06% |
| Other | 3 | 0.02% | 13 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,308 | 100.00% | 17,074 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 187 | 54.36% |
| Other Indo-European* | 27 | 19.85% |
| Asian Language** | 5 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 7 | 53.85% |
| Total | 226 | 1.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 76 | 64.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 29 | 18.71% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 3 | 100.00% |
| Total | 108 | 0.71% |
* "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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