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One of the components of a racially and ethnically diverse
population is the plurality of languages spoken at home. Shifts
in immigration and secondary migration in concert with birth
rates that vary by culture continually challenge King County
service providers and educators.
Languages Spoken at Home
Data is compiled using: 2005-2007 American Community Survey
3-Year Estimates
Read about how language data is collected
Ages 5 - 17
For the 284,615 population of King County age 5 to 17 years, the
following rates stand out:
|
Language at Home, Ages 5-17 |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
| |
|
|
|
5 to 17 years: |
284,615 |
***** |
|
Speak only English |
215,671 |
+/-2,661 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
22,189 |
+/-1,327 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
15,005 |
+/-1,328 |
|
Speak English "well" |
4,415 |
+/-786 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1,980 |
+/-517 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
789 |
+/-391 |
|
Speak other Indo-European
languages: |
15,602 |
+/-1,497 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
12,217 |
+/-1,256 |
|
Speak English "well" |
2,545 |
+/-576 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
782 |
+/-324 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
58 |
+/-55 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island
languages: |
24,788 |
+/-1,382 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
17,832 |
+/-1,327 |
|
Speak English "well" |
4,926 |
+/-765 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1,915 |
+/-627 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
115 |
+/-114 |
|
Speak other languages: |
6,365 |
+/-1,218 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
4,294 |
+/-961 |
|
Speak English "well" |
1,059 |
+/-496 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
903 |
+/-437 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
109 |
+/-121 |
Download Data | Source: 2005-2007 American Community Survey
3-Year Estimates
English Only
• 75.8% or approximately 215,671
Spanish
• Represent 7.8% of the population
• 87.5% of the population speaks English "very well", or
"well"
• 12.5% speak English “not well or “Not at all”
Indo-European
• Represented 5.5% of the population
• Highest percentage of speakers who reported an English
speaking capacity of “very well” or “well” at 94.6%
• 5.4% speaking English “not well or “Not at all.”
Asian and Pacific Island
• Biggest non English speaking population comprised of
8.7% of the population
• 91.8% speak English “very well” or “well”
• 8.2% speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
Other Languages
• This population represented 2.2% of the total age 5-17
category
• Lowest percentage of people who speak English “very well”
or “well” at 84.1%
• 15.9% who speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
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Ages 18 - 64
For the King County population age 18 to 64 years, there were 1,196,697
(+/- 193) persons. The following English speaking capacity was
reported:
|
Language at Home, Ages 18-64 |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
|
|
|
|
18 to 64 years: |
1,241,546 |
+/-193 |
|
Speak only English |
952,029 |
+/-4,769 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
73,129 |
+/-1,983 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
31,060 |
+/-1,982 |
|
Speak English "well" |
16,722 |
+/-1,636 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
18,380 |
+/-1,572 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
6967 |
+/-1,071 |
|
Speak other Indo-European
languages: |
69,328 |
+/-3,468 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
44,723 |
+/-2,619 |
|
Speak English "well" |
14,461 |
+/-1,380 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
7784 |
+/-1,176 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
2360 |
+/-877 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island
languages: |
124,841 |
+/-2,774 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
58,335 |
+/-2,331 |
|
Speak English "well" |
40,105 |
+/-2,043 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
23,043 |
+/-1,618 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
3358 |
+/-673 |
|
Speak other languages: |
22,219 |
+/-2,044 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
11,214 |
+/-1,476 |
|
Speak English "well" |
7,288 |
+/-1,122 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
3255 |
+/-781 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
462 |
+/-335 |
Download Data | Source: 2005-2007 American Community Survey
3-Year Estimates
English Only
• 76.7% of the population
• This represents 952,029 persons in this age group
Spanish
• 5.9% of the population (behind Asian
for population size)
• By a significant margin this group reported the lowest
percentage of people who speak English “very well” or
“well,” 65.3%
• The remaining 34.7% reported speaking English “not well or
“Not at all.”
Indo-European
• Represented 5.6% of the population
• 85.4% reported speaking English “very well” or “well ”
• 14.6% speaking English “not well or “Not at all.”
Asian and Pacific Island
• This category again made up the biggest non English
speaking population comprised of 10.1% of the population
• 78.9% speaking English “very well” or “well”
• 21.1% speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Other Languages
• The population speaking “other languages” represented
1.8% of King County
• This group reported the highest percentage of speakers who
reported an English speaking capacity of “very well” or
“well” at 83.3%
• 16.7% speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
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Ages 65+
Age 65 years and over is the third King County age demographic called
out. This group was made up of 193,918 persons (+/- 193).
|
Language at Home, 65 Years and over |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
|
|
|
|
65 years and over: |
193,918 |
+/-193 |
|
Speak only English |
160,196 |
+/-1,187 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
3,698 |
+/-460 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
1,993 |
+/-443 |
|
Speak English "well" |
737 |
+/-278 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
598 |
+/-252 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
370 |
+/-247 |
|
Speak other Indo-European languages: |
10,436 |
+/-954 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
5,351 |
+/-497 |
|
Speak English "well" |
1,626 |
+/-278 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1823 |
+/-357 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
1636 |
+/-603 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island languages: |
18,120 |
+/-731 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
3,750 |
+/-570 |
|
Speak English "well" |
3,895 |
+/-621 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
6,323 |
+/-757 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
4152 |
+/-726 |
|
Speak other languages: |
1,468 |
+/-417 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
484 |
+/-187 |
|
Speak English "well" |
378 |
+/-224 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
472 |
+/-258 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
134 |
+/-134 |
Download Data | Source: 2005-2007 American Community Survey
3-Year Estimates
English Only
• 82.6% of this population speaks
English only
• There are an estimated 160,196 individuals
Spanish
• This population comprises 1.9% of the
demographic
• Spanish speaking population in this age demographic has
the highest reporting rate of people who speak English “very
well” or “well,” 73.8%
• 26.2% reporting speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Indo-European
• This population represented
5.4% of
the population
• 66.9% reporting the ability to speak
English “very well” or “well ”
• The remaining 33.1% speaking English “not well or “Not at
all”
Asian and Pacific Island
• Again, the biggest non English
speaking population comprised of 9.3% of the population
• This demographic reported 42.2% speaking English “very
well” or “well”
• 57.8% speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Other Languages
• This population represented 0.8% of
King County
• It is reported that 58.7% of this population of speakers
reported an English speaking capacity of “very well” or
“well”
• 41.3% speak English “not well or “Not at all”
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Linguistic Isolation
Limitations in the ability to communicate
in English can severely hamper opportunities to seek and receive
services. More debilitating yet is when an entire household has
limited English speaking capacity, a category the US Census
refers to as “linguistic isolation.”
Read More about Linguistic
Isolation
|
2007 Language Groups with Linguistic Isolation
Detail |
|
|
Linguistically isolated |
Margin of Error |
|
Spanish |
26.3% |
+/-0.5 |
|
Indo-European |
16.9% |
+/-4.0 |
|
Asian and Pacific Island |
29.8% |
+/-3.0 |
|
Other languages |
33.3% |
+/-8.5 |
Download Data | Source: 2007 American
Community Survey
Isolation Rates:
• Spanish: 26.3%
• Indo-European: 16.9%
• Asian and Pacific Islander: 29.8%
• Other Languages:
33.3%
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Languages Used at School
Data is compiled using: Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI). Data is pulled from the 2007-2008
academic year.
The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI) English Language Learner (ELL) program
tracks participant numbers rather than all students with a
primary language other than English. This may under-represent
some of the rich variety of languages in the region. Statewide,
94,726 Washington State students (9.2%) are enrolled in ELL
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Regional Distinctions
- 72 languages are spoken in the North King County school
districts with 1,633 participants.
|
North King County: Top 10 Limited
English Language Learners Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
742 |
|
Korean |
156 |
|
Vietnamese |
90 |
|
Tagalog |
53 |
|
Russian |
48 |
|
Chinese-Cantonese |
39 |
|
Chinese-Mandarin |
39 |
|
Tigrinya |
34 |
|
Chinese-Unspecified |
32 |
|
Arabic |
29 |
Download Data
| Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- East King County School districts include a total of 94
non-English languages reported by its 3,769 ELL
participants.
|
East King County: Top 10 Limited
English Language Learners Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
1,423 |
|
Korean |
336 |
|
Japanese |
249 |
|
Russian |
170 |
|
Chinese-Mandarin |
155 |
|
Chinese-Cantonese |
143 |
|
Vietnamese |
123 |
|
Chinese-Unspecified |
95 |
|
Rumanian |
60 |
|
Hindi |
58 |
Download Data
| Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- South King County School districts report a total of 139
languages represented with 14,831 ELL participants.
|
South King County: Top 10 Limited
English Language Learners Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
7,448 |
|
Somali |
959 |
|
Ukrainian |
925 |
|
Vietnamese |
890 |
|
Russian |
726 |
|
Punjabi |
438 |
|
Korean |
330 |
|
Samoan |
321 |
|
Tagalog |
298 |
|
Cambodian |
276 |
Download Data
|
Source: Washington State Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (OSPI)
- Seattle School District reports 75 languages with 5,986
for the single public school district.
|
Seattle: Top 10 Limited English Proficiency
Languages Spoken in School District |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
1961 |
|
Vietnamese |
834 |
|
Somali |
729 |
|
Chinese-Cantonese |
422 |
|
Tagalog |
302 |
|
Oromo |
169 |
|
Amharic |
165 |
|
Cambodian |
150 |
|
Toishanese |
136 |
|
Swahili |
126 |
Download Data
| Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
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Number of ELL Students by
Subregion
Thirty-nine districts in the State were distinguished for
having more than 20 languages represented in ELL programs.
Included on this list are 13 King County public school
districts http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/pubdocs/EducatingEngLangLearnersinWA2007-08.pdf
|
OSPI: English
Language
Learners Students:
Distinguishing Spanish and Other Languages |
|
|
Spanish |
Percent Spanish |
Other Languages |
Percent Other Languages |
Total |
|
North King County |
742 |
45.4% |
891 |
54.6% |
1,633 |
|
East King County |
1,423 |
37.8% |
2,346 |
62.2% |
3,769 |
|
South King County |
7,448 |
50.2% |
7,383 |
49.8% |
14,831 |
|
Seattle |
1,961 |
32.8 |
4,025 |
67.2% |
5,986 |
|
TOTAL LEP |
11,574 |
44.1% |
14,645 |
55.9% |
26,219 |
Download Data | Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)2007-2008 Report
Number of Non-English Languages Represented
in ELL programs by school district
North Region
Northshore – 52 languages 982 participants
Shoreline – 52 languages 651
participants
East Region
Bellevue – 73
languages 1,849 participants
Lake Washington
– 71 languages 1,174 participants
Issaquah – 53 languages
512 participants
Mercer Island– 15
languages 72 participants
Snoqualmie Valley
– 10 languages 66 participants
Riverview – 7
languages 96 participants
Skykomish - NA
South Region
Kent – 87 languages
3,506 participants
Federal Way – 76 languages 2,873participants
Highline – 71
languages 3,372 participants
Renton – 59 languages 2,026 participants
Tukwila – 52
languages 1,179 participants
Auburn – 28 languages 1,548 participants
Tahoma – 28 languages
168 participants
Vashon Island – 5 languages 19 participants
Enumclaw – 2
languages 121 participants
Seattle Region
Seattle – 75 languages 5,986 participants
Return to Top
Large Quantity Of English Language
Learner Participation
The 2007-2008 OSPI update indicates that 28 Washington School
districts have over 1,000 ELL student participants. Ten of these
districts are located in King County:
North Region
Northshore - 1,012
East Region
Bellevue – 1,895
Lake Washington – 1,380
South Region
Kent – 3,810
Highline – 3,721
Federal Way –3,141
Renton – 2,276
Auburn – 1,804
Tukwila – 1,168
Seattle Region
Seattle – 6,173
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