A new U.S. Census report shows a growing number of U.S. residents speak a language at home other than English as the level of English proficiency in the nation holds steady.
The report, Language Use in the United States: 2011, says the percentage of people speaking a non-English language increased from 19.7 percent in 2007 to 20.8 percent in 2011. 58 percent of U.S. residents that speak a foreign language at home also speak English very well.
- An interactive map is available at: www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/language_map.html
Of the 61 million people who spoke a language other than English at home in 2011, almost two-thirds spoke Spanish.
The South Texas border city Laredo led all metro areas with 92 percent of residents speaking a language other than English at home.
The report’s author says this is evidence of the growing role of language in the national fabric.
