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 | 20,810 | 62.03% | 30,248 | 62.21% |
| Spanish | 11,374 | 33.90% | 17,005 | 34.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 966 | 2.88% | 769 | 1.58% |
| Asian Language** | 341 | 1.02% | 580 | 1.19% |
| Other | 57 | 0.17% | 21 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,548 | 100.00% | 48,623 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 8,156 | 47.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 166 | 21.59% |
| Asian Language** | 308 | 53.10% |
| Other Language | 3 | 14.29% |
| Total | 8,633 | 17.75% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 5,252 | 46.18% |
| Other Indo-European* | 254 | 26.29% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 36.95% |
| Other Language | 24 | 42.11% |
| Total | 5,656 | 16.86% |
* "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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