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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 American Community Survey
Read about how language data is collected
Ages 5 - 17
For the 273,941 (+/-272) population of King County age 5 to 17 years, the
following rates stand out:
|
Language at Home, Ages 5-17 |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
Total: |
1,648,875 |
+/-272 |
|
5 to 17 years: |
273,941 |
+/-272 |
|
Speak only English |
214,805 |
+/-4,144 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
18,941 |
+/-2,289 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
13,258 |
+/-2,499 |
|
Speak English "well" |
3,309 |
+/-942 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1,502 |
+/-817 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
872 |
+/-665 |
|
Speak other Indo-European
languages: |
13,434 |
+/-2,796 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
9,754 |
+/-2,348 |
|
Speak English "well" |
2,636 |
+/-960 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
996 |
+/-790 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
48 |
+/-79 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island
languages: |
21,626 |
+/-2,233 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
14,879 |
+/-1,603 |
|
Speak English "well" |
4,985 |
+/-1,408 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1,762 |
+/-904 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
0 |
+/-268 |
|
Speak other languages: |
5,135 |
+/-1,687 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
3,520 |
+/-1,564 |
|
Speak English "well" |
1,307 |
+/-1,071 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
308 |
+/-331 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
0 |
+/-268 |
Download Data | Source: 2005 American Community Survey
English Only
• 78.4% or approximately 214,805
Spanish
• Represent 6.9% of the population
• Lowest percentage of people who speak English “very well”
or “well” at 87.5%
• 12.5% speak English “not well or “Not at all”
Indo-European
• Represented 4.9% of the population
• 92.2% speaking English “very well” or “well ”
• 7.8% speaking English “not well or “Not at all.”
Asian and Pacific Island
• Biggest non English speaking population comprised of
7.9% of the population
• 91.9% speak English “very well” or “well”
• 8.1% speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
Other Languages
• This population represented 1.9% of the total age 5-17
category
• Highest percentage of speakers who reported an English
speaking capacity of “very well” or “well” at 94.0%
• 6.0% 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
(+/- 229) persons. The following English speaking capacity was
reported:
|
|
|
|
Language
at Home, Ages 18-64 |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
18
to 64 years: |
1,196,697 |
+/-229 |
|
Speak only English |
918,612 |
+/-9,784 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
66,549 |
+/-3,732 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
29,152 |
+/-3,728 |
|
Speak English "well" |
15,747 |
+/-2,628 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
15,098 |
+/-1,970 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
6,552 |
+/-1,739 |
|
Speak other Indo-European languages: |
69,227 |
+/-6,986 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
42,279 |
+/-4,359 |
|
Speak English "well" |
15,346 |
+/-2,839 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
9,014 |
+/-2,491 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
2,588 |
+/-1,179 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island languages: |
120,281 |
+/-4,293 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
54,229 |
+/-3,942 |
|
Speak English "well" |
43,845 |
+/-3,785 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
20,303 |
+/-3,027 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
1,904 |
+/-996 |
|
Speak other languages: |
22,028 |
+/-4,724 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
12,041 |
+/-3,423 |
|
Speak English "well" |
7,268 |
+/-1,987 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
2,522 |
+/-1,042 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
197 |
+/-326 |
Download Data | Source: 2005 American Community Survey
English Only
• 76.8% of the population
• This represents 918,612 persons in this age group
Spanish
• 5.6% of the population (behind Asian and Indo-European
for population size)
• By a significant margin this group reported the lowest
percentage of people who speak English “very well” or
“well,” 67.5%
• The remaining 32.5% reported speaking English “not well or
“Not at all.”
Indo-European
• Represented 5.8% of the population
• 83.2% reported speaking English “very well” or “well ”
• 16.8% 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
• 81.5% speaking English “very well” or “well”
• 18.5% 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 87.7%
• 12.3% 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 178,238 persons (+/- 229).
|
|
|
|
Language
at Home, Age 65 and Over |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
65
years and over: |
178,237 |
+/-229 |
|
Speak only English |
148,046 |
+/-2,627 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
3,507 |
+/-864 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
2,527 |
+/-847 |
|
Speak English "well" |
281 |
+/-238 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
427 |
+/-328 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
272 |
+/-340 |
|
Speak other Indo-European languages: |
9,468 |
+/-2,045 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
3,942 |
+/-898 |
|
Speak English "well" |
1,210 |
+/-503 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1,861 |
+/-714 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
2,455 |
+/-1,599 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island languages: |
16,468 |
+/-1,395 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
4,219 |
+/-1,250 |
|
Speak English "well" |
4,147 |
+/-1,156 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
5,651 |
+/-1,140 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
2,451 |
+/-764 |
|
Speak other languages: |
748 |
+/-457 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
225 |
+/-170 |
|
Speak English "well" |
164 |
+/-158 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
359 |
+/-377 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
0 |
+/-268 |
Download Data | Source: 2005 American
Community Survey
English Only
• 83.1% of this population speaks
English only
• There are an estimated 148,046 individuals
Spanish
• This population comprises 2.0% of the
demographic
• Spanish speaking population in this age demographic has
the highest reporting rate of people who speak English “very
well” or “well,” 80.1%
• 19.9% reporting speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Indo-European
• This population represented 5.3% of
the population with 54.4% reporting the ability to speak
English “very well” or “well ”
• The remaining 45.6% speaking English “not well or “Not at
all”
Asian and Pacific Island
• Again, the biggest non English
speaking population comprised of 9.2% of the population
• This demographic reported 50.8% speaking English “very
well” or “well”
• 49.2% speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Other Languages
• This population represented 0.4% of
King County
• It is reported that 52.0% of this population of speakers
reported an English speaking capacity of “very well” or
“well”
• 48.0% 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
The 2005 American Community Survey
estimated that 53,125 households were “linguistically isolated.”
This represents 26.3% of households where English is not the
household language.
|
2005 Language Groups with Linguistic Isolation
Detail |
|
|
Linguistically Isolated |
Not Linguistically Isolated |
|
Spanish |
10,530 |
28,715 |
|
Indo-European |
9,549 |
38,916 |
|
Asian and Pacific Island |
20,885 |
47,655 |
|
Other languages |
3,401 |
8,760 |
|
TOTAL |
44,365 |
124,046 |
Download Data | Source: 2005 American
Community Survey
Isolation Rates:
• Spanish: 26.8%
• Indo-European: 19.7%
• Asian and Pacific Islander: 30.5%
• Other Languages: 28.0%
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Languages Used at School
Data is compiled using: Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI)
The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI) Limited English Proficiency (LEP) 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.
Regional Distinctions
- 74 languages are spoken in the North King County school
districts with 1,445 participants.
|
North King County: Top 10 Limited
English Proficiency Languages Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
665 |
|
Korean |
164 |
|
Vietnamese |
73 |
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