Not having success in the ratings and revenue department with your English-language programming?
Look around you. Are there more ethnic retailers in town? Have you noticed an increased use of a language other than English in your community?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, based on new Census Bureau data crunched by the Center for Immigration Studies.
A newly released analysis of 2018 data finds that 67.3 million residents in the United States now speak a language other than English at home, a number equal to the entire population of France. The number has nearly tripled since 1980, and more than doubled since 1990.
The growth at the state level is even more pronounced.
In nine states, more than one in four residents now speaks a language other than English at home. These nine states account for two-thirds of all foreign-language speakers. In contrast, in 1980 foreign-language speakers were one in four residents in just two states (New Mexico and Hawaii); and these two states accounted for just 3 percent of all foreign language speakers.
The states with the largest share of their populations speaking a foreign language at home in 2018 were California (45 percent), Texas (36 percent), New Mexico (34 percent), New Jersey (32 percent), New York and Nevada (each 31 percent), Florida (30 percent), Arizona and Hawaii (each 28 percent), and Massachusetts (24 percent).
This helped in establishing a stat that’s downright stunning: As a share of the population, 21.9 percent of U.S. residents speak a foreign language at home — more than double the 11 percent in 1980.
The growth seen in the last decade is just as compelling.
States with the largest percentage increase in the number of those speaking a foreign language at home since 2010 are North Dakota (up 63 percent), Utah (up 29 percent), Iowa (up 24 percent), Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Washington, Maryland and Nevada (each up 23 percent), Oregon and Tennessee (each up 22 percent), North Carolina and Kentucky (each up 21 percent), and South Carolina (up 20 percent).
In America’s five largest cities, just under half (48 percent) of residents now speak a language other than English at home. In New York City it is 49 percent; in Los Angeles it is 59 percent; in Chicago it is 36 percent; in Houston it is 50 percent; and in Phoenix it is 38 percent.
While that’s not particularly surprising, this is: In 2018 there were 229 cities and CDPs in which more than one in three residents spoke a language other than English at home. These places include Providence, R.I. (50 percent); Allentown, Pa. (48 percent); Germantown, Md. (46 percent); Centerville, Va. (44 percent); New Rochelle, N.Y. (42 percent); West Valley City, Utah (39 percent); Springdale, Ark. (35 percent); and Troy, Mich. (34 percent).
Yes, Hispanic population growth is a large factor in these rises. But, one must also understand that Asian language use is also on the rise.
Languages with more than a million people who speak it at home in 2018 were Spanish (41.5 million), Chinese (3.5 million), Tagalog (1.8 million), Vietnamese (1.5 million), Arabic (1.3 million), French (1.2 million), and Korean (1.1 million).
What about bilingualism? It’s not as prevalent as you may think.
Of those who speak a foreign language at home, 25.6 million (38 percent) told the Census Bureau that they speak English less than very well.
This figure is entirely based on the opinion of the respondent.
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