Languages spoken in Essex County, MA

In October 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau released the "2009-2013 American Community Survey" which provides information on "languages spoken at home" and "ability to speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over" for the United States as a whole, states including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., selected counties, and selected cities and urban areas. The following provides aggregated survey information on languages spoken in Essex County [MA]

Table showing languages spoken in Essex County, MA

Population 5 years and over
Speak only English at home
Speak a language other than English at home
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

French (incl. Patois, Cajun)

French Creole

Italian

Portuguese (incl. Portuguese Creole)

German (incl. Luxembourgian)

Yiddish

Other West Germanic languages

Scandinavian languages

Greek

Russian

Polish

Serbo-Croatian languages

Other Slavic languages

Other Indic languages

Other Indo-European languages

ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES

Chinese (incl. Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages)

Other Asian languages

Tagalog

Other Pacific Island languages

ALL OTHER LANGUAGES

Navajo

Other Native North American languages

Other and unspecified languages

BY STATE
BY COUNTY
BY CITY

Language	Number of speakers	Margin of Error	Speak English less than "Very Well"	Margin of Error
Population 5 years and over	707,345	49	69,566	1,700
Speak only English at home	537,626	2,404	(X)	(X)
Speak a language other than English at home	169,719	2,405	69,566	1,700
SPANISH AND SPANISH CREOLE	103,580	1,260	46,507	1,313
Spanish	103,580	1,260	46,505	1,313
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES	43,363	2,189	13,631	1,098
French (incl Patois, Cajun)	6,474	686	1,173	266
French	6,220	648	1,130	262
Patois	245	210	45	53
Cajun	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
French Creole	2,380	493	984	271
Italian	5,279	557	1,382	281
Portuguese (incl Portuguese Creole)	9,704	1,023	4,090	614
Portuguese	9,705	1,023	4,090	614
German (incl Luxembourgian)	2,082	375	199	85
German	2,080	375	200	85
Yiddish	137	74	13	21
Other West Germanic languages	307	128	17	21
Dutch	295	131	(D)	(D)
Afrikaans	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Scandinavian languages	508	162	44	43
Swedish	230	89	(B)	-
Danish	200	137	(D)	(D)
Norwegian	45	29	(B)	-
Icelandic	30	36	(B)	-
Greek	4,339	659	1,168	289
Russian	4,006	650	2,095	393
Polish	1,837	506	537	193
Serbo-Croatian languages	635	270	207	110
Serbocroatian	500	253	140	80
Croatian	110	101	55	68
Serbian	25	26	(D)	(D)
Other Slavic languages	195	76	29	29
Ukrainian	105	52	(D)	(D)
Czech	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Slovak	55	51	(B)	-
Macedonian	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Armenian	583	329	77	61
Persian	382	187	171	138
Hindi	793	307	26	32
Gujarati	492	213	232	116
Urdu	263	195	136	118
Other Indic languages	1,132	367	506	299
India nec3	100	85	(D)	(D)
Bengali	320	245	230	235
Marathi	160	139	(B)	-
Oriya	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Nepali	285	206	195	178
Sindhi	50	39	(D)	(D)
Pakistan nec3	130	156	(D)	(D)
Sinhalese	75	110	(B)	-
Other Indo-European languages	1,835	549	545	237
Jamaican Creole	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Krio	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Pidgin	40	64	(D)	(D)
Romanian	255	120	60	72
Welsh	20	23	(D)	(D)
Irish Gaelic	95	56	(D)	(D)
Scottic Gaelic	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Albanian	1,240	528	435	230
Lithuanian	145	93	(D)	(D)
Latvian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Kurdish	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES	16,283	755	7,453	547
Chinese (incl Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages4)	4,527	648	2,085	356
Chinese	3,320	604	1,590	379
Cantonese	605	274	370	186
Mandarin	545	278	115	71
Fuchow	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Formosan	50	43	(D)	(D)
Japanese	594	177	233	104
Korean	1,577	441	771	268
Mon-Khmer, Cambodian	4,389	782	2,196	454
Thai	82	65	23	28
Laotian	132	81	72	63
Vietnamese	2,587	468	1,541	330
Other Asian languages	1,133	325	190	122
Turkish	305	200	85	88
Telugu	330	205	40	46
Kannada	150	92	(D)	(D)
Malayalam	100	89	(D)	(D)
Tamil	220	140	(D)	(D)
Burmese	30	38	(D)	(D)
Tagalog	819	328	258	162
Other Pacific Island languages	443	298	84	85
Indonesian	345	290	(D)	(D)
Malay	25	37	(B)	-
Chamorro	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Yapese	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Tongan	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Hawaiian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
ALL OTHER LANGUAGES	6,493	995	1,975	424
Other Native North American languages	12	20	(B)	-
Chasta Costa	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Hungarian	161	102	13	20
Arabic	3,150	714	1,157	330
Hebrew	444	241	54	57
African languages	2,682	564	751	251
Amharic	45	45	15	21
Berber	100	139	(D)	(D)
Cushite	185	190	110	116
Sudanic	140	184	(D)	(D)
Swahili	1,030	400	270	169
Bantu	175	103	40	65
Mande	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Fulani	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Kru, Ibo, Yoruba	945	289	240	141
African	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Other and unspecified languages	44	36	(B)	-
Finnish	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Uncodable	(D)	(D)	(B)	-

Notes

Number of speakers and Speak English less than "Very Well": Detailed-language estimates are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Aggregate estimates ("language category" and "language sub-category" entries) are unrounded and appear in table B16001. Detailed-language estimates may not sum to aggregate estimates because of rounding.
Margin of Error and Margin of Error: Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data. The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.
(D): Data withheld to avoid disclosure.
(B): Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate.
(X): Question does not apply.
-: Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.
3 N.E.C. stands for not elsewhere classified. These are languages where respondents indicated they spoke either Indian or Pakistan. For Indian, it cannot be determined if the respondent spoke a native American language or spoke a language from India. For Pakistan, respondents wrote in Pakistan but it cannot be determined which one of the languages spoken in Pakistan is actually being spoken. To distinguish these languages, n.e.c. is used to indicated they are not classified in any other language code.
This category includes literal write-ins of Chinese as well as Hakka, Kan, Hsiang, Cantonese, Mandarin, Fuchow, Formosan, and Wu.