American Community Survey Briefs

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

People Who Spoke a Language 

Other Than English at Home by 

Hispanic Origin and Race: 2009

Introduction

This report presents data on the proportion of people aged 5 and over who 

spoke a language other than English 

at home, based on the 2009 American 

Community Survey (ACS). Data are presented at the national and state levels. 

Data in the state maps are reported for 

Hispanic origin and racial groups with a 

population of at least 65,000. 

These data come from a three-part question. Part one asks, “Does this person 

speak a language other than English at 

home?” Part two asks, “What is this language?” Part three asks, “How well does 

this person speak English (very well; well; 

not well; not at all)?” The information 

presented in this report utilizes data from 

part one of the language question. 

Data on language ability has become 

increasingly important as the U.S. population has become more ethnically diverse. 

Government and private sector service 

providers use data on language ability 

to help meet the communication needs 

of different communities by tailoring 

services to schools, hospitals, and other 

providers. These data are also used to 

monitor and enforce the Voting Rights Act 

of 1965.

This report highlights information about 

language for selected Hispanic origin 

and race groups. The U.S. Census Bureau 

collects race and ethnicity data in accordance with guidelines provided by the 

U.S. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). These data are based on selfidentification. The question on Hispanic 

origin asks respondents if they are of 

Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. The 

question on race asks respondents to 

report the race or races they consider 

themselves to be. People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or 

Spanish may be of any race.

Language Other than 

English Spoken at Home for 

the United States

Table 1 shows that among the major 

racial categories in the United States, 

those only choosing the Some Other Race 

category had the highest proportion of 

individuals who spoke a language other 

than English at home (83 percent).1

Asian alone (77 percent) had the next 

highest proportion, followed by Native 

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 

(43 percent), American Indian and Alaska 

Native alone (29 percent), White alone 

(15 percent), and Black alone (8 percent).2 

People who reported Some Other Race 

alone were more likely to speak a language other than English at home 

(83 percent) compared with people 

who reported Some Other Race as well 

as one or more additional race groups 

1 The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches 

for showing data for race groups. In this report, a 

series of maps compares data for single-race populations (e.g., Asian alone) and the Two or More Races 

population. However, this does not imply that it is the 

preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. 

Table 1 also presents data for the major race groups 

“alone,” “in combination,” and “alone or in combination.” For example, the data for Asians summarizes 

characteristics for single-race Asians, for Asians who 

reported two or more races, and people who reported 

they were Asian regardless of whether they also 

reported another race. 2 See the Race section of the 2009 ACS Subject 

Definitions Guide for detailed definitions of the racial 

categories used in this report <www.census.gov/acs

/www/UseData/Def.htm>.

ACSBR/09-19

By

Tallese D. Johnson 

Merarys Ríos 

Malcolm P. Drewery 

Sharon R. Ennis

Myoung Ouk Kim

Issued October 2010
2 U.S. Census Bureau

(46 percent).3 The difference 

between single-race Asians and 

Asians who reported multiple races 

was even larger (77 percent versus 

18 percent).

The patterns differed for Whites 

and Blacks. The White alone population and the Black alone population had a lower proportion of 

people who spoke a language other 

than English at home (15 percent 

and 8 percent, respectively) compared with the White in combination population and the Black in 

combination population (19 percent 

and 16 percent, respectively). 

Table 2 presents data on detailed 

Hispanic origin and racial groups in 

the United States. Overall, among 

the major race groups and Hispanic 

origin, Non-Hispanic Whites had 

the lowest proportion (6 percent) 

of people who spoke a language 

other than English at home and 

Asians alone and Hispanics had the 

highest proportion (77 percent and 

76 percent, respectively).

Hispanics were much more likely to 

speak a language other than 

English at home (76 percent) compared with non-Hispanics (10 percent). Among the selected Hispanic 

3 Individuals who chose more than one 

of the six race categories are referred to as 

the race in combination population, or as the 

group who reported more than one race.

detailed groups, Dominicans (92 

percent), Salvadorans (92 percent), and Guatemalans (91 percent) were among the top three 

groups with the highest percent 

who spoke a language other than 

English at home.4 This was followed by Colombians (87 percent), 

Cubans (82 percent), Mexicans 

(76 percent), and Puerto Ricans 

(66 percent).

Among the selected American 

Indian and Alaska Native tribes, 

Navajos had the highest proportion of people who spoke a language other than English at home 

(60 percent), while Cherokees had 

the lowest (7 percent).5

Vietnamese (89 percent) had the 

highest proportion of people who 

spoke a language other than 

English at home, among the 

4 The percentages speaking a language 

other than English at home for Dominicans, 

Salvadorans, and Guatemalans were not statistically different from each other. 5 In the text and figures of this report, 

data for detailed race groups (e.g., Cherokee, 

Japanese, Samoan) are shown for people who 

reported only a single group. However, this 

does not imply that it is the preferred method 

of presenting or analyzing data on race; the 

Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. 

Additional ACS data are available online in 

American FactFinder for a number of race 

groups “alone,” “in combination,” and “alone 

or in combination.” For example, data are 

available for people who reported they were 

Japanese; for people who reported they were 

Japanese and White; and for people who 

reported they were Japanese, regardless of 

whether they also reported another race.

selected Asian detailed groups; 

Japanese had the lowest 

(46 percent). 

Among the selected Native 

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 

detailed groups, Samoans had a 

higher proportion of people who 

spoke a language other than 

English at home (56 percent); 

Native Hawaiians had a lower proportion (12 percent).

Within the selected Two or More 

Races category, White and Some 

Other Race had the highest proportion of people who spoke a 

language other than English at 

home (50 percent), while White 

and American Indian and Alaska 

Native had the lowest proportion 

(11 percent).6 

Language Other than 

English Spoken at Home 

by State

California had the largest percent 

of the total population who spoke 

a language other than English at 

home (43 percent), followed by 

New Mexico (36 percent) and Texas 

(34 percent).

Rhode Island (87 percent) and 

Florida (86 percent) had the highest 

6 The race-in-combination categories use 

the conjunction and in bold and italicized 

print to link the race groups that compose the 

combination.

Table 1.

Population 5 Years and Older Who Spoke a Language Other Than English at Home by 

Race: 2009

(In percent. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/acs/www)

Race Alone

Margin of 

error1 (±) In combination

Margin of 

error1 (±)

Alone or in 

combination

Margin of 

error1 (±)

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.5 0.1 18.9 0.4 14.6 0.1

Black or African American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 0.1 15.7 0.6 8.3 0.1

American Indian and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.0 0.7 12.3 0.6 20.7 0.5

Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.1 0.3 17.9 0.6 70.6 0.3

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander......... 42.5 1.8 11.6 1.2 28.2 1.1

Some Other Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.9 0.3 46.4 1.0 79.9 0.3

1

Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error 

in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent 

confidence interval.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009, Selected Population Profile, S0201.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

proportion of Hispanics who spoke a 

language other than English at home; 

Hawaii had the lowest (23 percent).7 For 

non-Hispanics who spoke a language other 

than English at home, Hawaii (25 percent) 

and California (24 percent) were the states 

with the highest proportion, followed by 

New York (19 percent) and New Jersey (18 

percent).8 

New York had the highest proportion of 

non-Hispanic Whites who spoke a language 

other than English at home (13 percent).

Massachusetts (35 percent), Minnesota 

(28 percent), and Washington (21 percent) 

had the highest proportions of Blacks who 

spoke a language other than English at 

home. 

New Mexico (59 percent) and Arizona (51 

percent) had the highest proportion of 

American Indians and Alaska Natives who 

spoke a language other than English at 

home.

In nearly all states with at least 65,000 or 

more Asians, at least 50 percent of Asians 

spoke a language other than English at 

home. The exception was Hawaii, where 

43 percent spoke a language other than 

English at home. 

Two states had Native Hawaiian and Other 

Pacific Islander populations of 65,000 

or more— California and Hawaii. Among 

Pacific Islanders in California, about half 

spoke a language other than English at 

home (52 percent), compared with onethird of Pacific Islanders in Hawaii (33 

percent).

New Jersey (41 percent) and Massachusetts 

(38 percent) had the highest proportion of 

people reporting multiple races who spoke 

a language other than English at home.9

7 The percentages for Rhode Island and Florida were 

not statistically different from each other. 8 The percentages for Hawaii and California were 

not statistically different from each other. 9 The percentages for New Jersey and Massachusetts 

were not statistically different from each other.

Table 2. 

Population 5 Years and Older Who Spoke a 

Language Other Than English at Home by Selected 

Hispanic Origin and Race Group: 2009

(In percent. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Hispanic origin and race1

Percent

Margin of 

error2 (±)

 Total population 5 years and older . . . . . . . . . . . 20.0 0.1

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

10.0 0.1

76.2 0.2

Colombian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Cuban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Dominican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Guatemalan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Mexican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Puerto Rican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Salvadoran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

86.9 0.8

82.3 0.7

91.9 0.6

91.0 0.7

76.1 0.2

66.2 0.6

91.5 0.6

White Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.5 0.1

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 0.1

Black or African American Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 0.1

American Indian and Alaska Native Alone . . . . . . . . 29.0 0.7

Alaska Native alone3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Cherokee alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Chippewa alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Choctaw alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Navajo alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Sioux alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

29.3 2.3

6.5 1.0

8.4 1.5

13.8 1.8

60.0 2.4

12.2 1.7

Asian Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.1 0.3

Asian Indian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Chinese alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Filipino alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Japanese alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Korean alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Vietnamese alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

79.6 0.5

82.9 0.4

67.4 0.6

45.8 1.1

79.0 0.7

89.1 0.6

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone ... 42.5 1.8

Native Hawaiian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Samoan alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

12.3 1.9

55.6 4.2

Two or More Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.6 0.4

White; American Indian and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . 

White; Asian...................................

White; Black or African American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

White; Some Other Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

11.1 0.6

15.7 0.7

14.7 0.7

50.4 1.1

1

The American Indian and Alaska Native groups and the Native Hawaiian and Other 

Pacific Islander groups included in this table have estimated populations of at least 65,000 at 

the national level. The Hispanic, Asian, and Two or More Races groups included in this table 

have estimated populations of at least 750,000 at the national level. 2 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is 

a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of 

the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, 

the margin of error forms the 90 percent confidence interval. 3

This category represents the population who specified any Alaska Native group(s) alone.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009, Selected Population 

Profile, S0201.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Source and Accuracy

Data presented in this report are 

based on people and households 

that responded to the ACS in 2009. 

The resulting estimates are representative of the entire population. 

All comparisons presented in this 

report have taken sampling error 

into account and are significant 

at the 90 percent confidence level 

unless otherwise noted. Due to 

rounding, some details may not 

sum to totals. For information on 

sampling and estimation methods, 

confidentiality protection, and 

sampling and nonsampling errors, 

please see the “ACS Accuracy of the 

Data (2009)” document located at 

<www.census.gov/acs/www

/Downloads/data_documentation

/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of

_Data_2009.pdf>. 

What Is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey 

designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, 

congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every 

year. It has an annual sample size of about 3 million addresses across 

the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing units 

and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities and prisons). The ACS is 

conducted in every county throughout the nation, and every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community 

Survey. Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 2005 were released for geographic areas with populations of 65,000 and greater. For information 

on the ACS sample design and other topics, visit <www.census.gov

/acs/www>.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

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CO IL

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AR

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AK Non-Hispanic White Alone

DC

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AK Total Population

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AK Hispanic or Latino

DC

PR

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CO IL

OR

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AL GA

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HI

HI HI

HI

Black or African American Alone

DC

PR

NJ

DE

RI

NJ

DE

RI

NJ

DE

RI

NJ

DE

RI

U.S. percent = 20.0 U.S. percent = 76.2

U.S. percent = 5.8 U.S. percent = 7.9

Figure 1.

Population 5 Years and Older Who Spoke a Language Other Than English at Home

by Hispanic Origin and Race: 2009

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions,

see www.census.gov/acs/www) 

75.0 or more

50.0 to 74.9

40.0 to 49.9

30.0 to 39.9

20.0 to 29.9

5.0 to 19.9

Less than 5.0

Not available

Percent of specified group

5 years and older in each state

who spoke a language other

than English at home

See note and source at the end of figure.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

NM

CO IL

OR

UT

KS

WY

IA NE

SD

MN

FL

ND

OK

WI

MO

WA

AL GA

LA

AR

MI

IN

PA

NC

MS

TN

VA KY

OH

SC

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WV

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NH

CT NY

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CO IL

OR

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AL GA

LA

AR

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IN

PA

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TN

VA KY

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SC

ME

WV

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NH

MA

CT

CA

AK Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander Alone

DC

PR

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ID

NV

CO IL

OR

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WY

IA NE

SD

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AK American Indian and 

Alaska Native Alone

DC

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OR MN

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OH MD

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AK Asian Alone

DC

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AK

HI

HI HI

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Two or More Races

DC

PR

NJ

DE

RI

NJ

DE

RI

NJ

DE

RI

NJ

DE

RI

U.S. percent = 29.0 U.S. percent = 77.1

U.S. percent = 42.5 U.S. percent = 19.6

Figure 1.

Population 5 Years and Older Who Spoke a Language Other Than English at Home 

by Hispanic Origin and Race: 2009—Con.

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/acs/www)

75.0 or more

50.0 to 74.9

40.0 to 49.9

30.0 to 39.9

20.0 to 29.9

5.0 to 19.9

Less than 5.0

Not available

Percent of specified group

5 years and older in each state

who spoke a language other

than English at home

Note: Data classes based on unrounded percentages. “Not available” indicates population of specified group in state was less 

than 65,000.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009, Puerto Rico Community Survey, 2009.