Languages in California (State)

Language Spoken At Home#1

Percentage of the total population living in households in which a given language is spoken at home.
Scope: population of the United States and California
California
United States
0%5%10%15%20%25%CountSpanishChinese1Tagalog2VietnameseKoreanPersian3ArmenianArabicHindiRussianJapanesePunjabiFrench4Austronesian5GermanTai-Kadai6PortugueseHmongKhmerOther Indo-European languagesOther Indo-Europe…28.787214%13.105530%28.787214%28.8%10,407,91510.4M3.166440%1.060159%3.166440%3.2%1,144,8151.14M2.192775%0.563118%2.192775%2.2%792,790793k1.499940%0.486855%1.499940%1.5%542,298542k1.023553%0.369818%1.023553%1.0%370,062370k0.543667%0.137532%0.543667%0.5%196,561197k0.532087%0.079353%0.532087%0.5%192,374192k0.479894%0.363857%0.479894%0.5%173,504174k0.476708%0.247020%0.476708%0.5%172,352172k0.437086%0.301383%0.437086%0.4%158,027158k0.389153%0.151584%0.389153%0.4%140,697141k0.372727%0.094033%0.372727%0.4%134,758135k0.352915%0.410100%0.352915%0.4%127,595128k0.339705%0.148193%0.339705%0.3%122,819123k0.292682%0.322889%0.292682%0.3%105,818106k0.234523%0.102331%0.234523%0.2%84,79184.8k0.220146%0.234186%0.220146%0.2%79,59379.6k0.210308%0.076038%0.210308%0.2%76,03676.0k0.205844%0.069842%0.205844%0.2%74,42274.4k0.193060%0.184459%0.193060%0.2%69,80069.8k
Count number of people speaking given language at home
1including Mandarin, Cantonese 2including Filipino 3including Farsi, Dari 4including Cajun 5including Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian 6including Thai, Lao

Speaking English 'Very Well'#2

Percentage of people living in households in which a given language is spoken at home.
Scope: population of the United States and California
Less Than 'Very Well' 'Very Well'
United States
California
50%0%50%Don'tDoGermanFrench1HindiOther Indo-European languagesOther Indo-Europe…PortugueseTagalog2Austronesian3ArabicPersian4SpanishPunjabiHmongRussianJapaneseArmenianKhmerTai-Kadai5Chinese6KoreanVietnamese-12.213423%-15.531691%-12.213423%12.2%87.786577%84.468309%87.786577%87.8%12,92412.9k92,89492.9k-14.342255%-20.435910%-14.342255%14.3%85.657745%79.564090%85.657745%85.7%18,30018.3k109,295109k-19.216487%-20.627763%-19.216487%19.2%80.783513%79.372237%80.783513%80.8%33,12033.1k139,232139k-26.401146%-30.386196%-26.401146%26.4%73.598854%69.613804%73.598854%73.6%18,42818.4k51,37251.4k-31.075597%-36.093908%-31.075597%31.1%68.924403%63.906092%68.924403%68.9%24,73424.7k54,85954.9k-33.688871%-31.875946%-33.688871%33.7%66.311129%68.124054%66.311129%66.3%267,082267k525,708526k-35.282000%-38.172642%-35.282000%35.3%64.718000%61.827358%64.718000%64.7%43,33343.3k79,48679.5k-38.642337%-37.405871%-38.642337%38.6%61.357663%62.594129%61.357663%61.4%67,04667.0k106,458106k-39.010791%-37.726176%-39.010791%39.0%60.989209%62.273824%60.989209%61.0%76,68076.7k119,881120k-42.102823%-41.560410%-42.102823%42.1%57.897177%58.439590%57.897177%57.9%4,382,0264.38M6,025,8896.03M-44.208136%-40.749536%-44.208136%44.2%55.791864%59.250464%55.791864%55.8%59,57459.6k75,18475.2k-44.672261%-42.197703%-44.672261%44.7%55.327739%57.802297%55.327739%55.3%33,96734.0k42,06942.1k-45.375790%-44.829344%-45.375790%45.4%54.624210%55.170656%54.624210%54.6%71,70671.7k86,32186.3k-45.740847%-42.702223%-45.740847%45.7%54.259153%57.297777%54.259153%54.3%64,35664.4k76,34176.3k-46.895111%-43.338115%-46.895111%46.9%53.104889%56.661885%53.104889%53.1%90,21490.2k102,160102k-51.787106%-51.044288%-51.787106%51.8%48.212894%48.955712%48.212894%48.2%38,54138.5k35,88135.9k-54.146077%-49.973990%-54.146077%54.1%45.853923%50.026010%45.853923%45.9%45,91145.9k38,88038.9k-56.488341%-55.476722%-56.488341%56.5%43.511659%44.523278%43.511659%43.5%646,687647k498,128498k-56.793997%-54.055576%-56.793997%56.8%43.206003%45.944424%43.206003%43.2%210,173210k159,889160k-59.066971%-58.713636%-59.066971%59.1%40.933029%41.286364%40.933029%40.9%320,319320k221,979222k
Don't number of people that don't speak English 'very well'
Do number of people that do speak English 'very well'
1including Cajun 2including Filipino 3including Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian 4including Farsi, Dari 5including Thai, Lao 6including Mandarin, Cantonese

Language by State in the United States

There are 50 states in the United States. This section compares California to all of the states in the United States and to those entities that contain or substantially overlap with California.

Spanish Spoken at Home by State#3

Percentage of the total population living in households in which Spanish is spoken.
Scope: population of California, selected other states in the United States, and entities that contain California
0%5%10%15%20%25%Count#TexasCaliforniaNew MexicoNevadaFloridaArizonaNew JerseyNew YorkIllinoisUnited States of AmericaUnited StatesColoradoRhode IslandConnecticutUtahOregonMassachusettsWashingtonIdahoGeorgiaKansasMarylandNorth CarolinaN CarolinaNebraskaDelawareVirginiaOklahomaArkansasWyomingPennsylvaniaIndianaWisconsinSouth CarolinaS CarolinaTennesseeIowaMinnesotaLouisianaAlaskaAlabamaMichiganKentuckyMissouriMississippiOhioNew HampshireSouth DakotaHawaiiNorth DakotaMontanaWest VirginiaVermontMaine29.512011%29.512011%29.5%7,373,7977.37M128.787214%28.787214%28.8%10,407,91510.4M228.015085%28.015085%28.0%545,986546k321.123566%21.123566%21.1%561,619562k420.892141%20.892141%20.9%3,936,1293.94M520.427867%20.427867%20.4%1,285,6561.29M615.926284%15.926284%15.9%1,335,7291.34M715.032768%15.032768%15.0%2,785,0812.79M813.232963%13.232963%13.2%1,596,0911.60M913.105530%13.105530%13.1%39,145,06639.1M11.884980%11.884980%11.9%597,078597k1011.632811%11.632811%11.6%116,296116k1111.517761%11.517761%11.5%391,576392k129.939643%9.939643%9.9%267,820268k138.922994%8.922994%8.9%334,636335k148.603765%8.603765%8.6%548,794549k158.393129%8.393129%8.4%556,129556k167.943040%7.943040%7.9%120,847121k177.935208%7.935208%7.9%748,955749k187.538962%7.538962%7.5%203,505204k197.452966%7.452966%7.5%416,796417k207.396109%7.396109%7.4%690,417690k217.362800%7.362800%7.4%128,899129k226.860664%6.860664%6.9%60,31160.3k236.800564%6.800564%6.8%530,447530k246.800514%6.800514%6.8%245,483245k255.141835%5.141835%5.1%142,819143k264.998514%4.998514%5.0%27,24527.2k274.670721%4.670721%4.7%563,727564k284.626104%4.626104%4.6%285,410285k294.590155%4.590155%4.6%248,533249k304.419025%4.419025%4.4%200,761201k313.926162%3.926162%3.9%241,296241k323.905289%3.905289%3.9%113,633114k333.817511%3.817511%3.8%194,772195k343.615292%3.615292%3.6%156,774157k353.528310%3.528310%3.5%24,07824.1k363.249851%3.249851%3.2%147,816148k372.925168%2.925168%2.9%273,083273k382.573243%2.573243%2.6%106,467106k392.509444%2.509444%2.5%142,678143k402.404747%2.404747%2.4%67,25667.3k412.206979%2.206979%2.2%240,366240k422.092448%2.092448%2.1%26,42426.4k432.038652%2.038652%2.0%16,12516.1k441.955632%1.955632%2.0%25,85425.9k451.612284%1.612284%1.6%11,04011.0k461.342483%1.342483%1.3%12,92012.9k471.041404%1.041404%1.0%18,16418.2k481.036265%1.036265%1.0%6,175490.902214%0.902214%0.9%11,41111.4k50
Count number of people speaking Spanish at home
# rank of state out of 50 by percentage speaking Spanish at home

Language by State in the West

There are 13 states in the West. This section compares California to all of the states in the West and to those entities that contain or substantially overlap with California.

Spanish Spoken at Home by State#23

Percentage of the total population living in households in which Spanish is spoken.
Scope: population of California, selected other states in the West, and entities that contain California
0%5%10%15%20%25%Count#CaliforniaNew MexicoNevadaArizonaUnited States of AmericaUnited StatesColoradoUtahOregonWashingtonIdahoWyomingAlaskaHawaiiMontana28.787214%28.787214%28.8%10,407,91510.4M128.015085%28.015085%28.0%545,986546k221.123566%21.123566%21.1%561,619562k320.427867%20.427867%20.4%1,285,6561.29M413.105530%13.105530%13.1%39,145,06639.1M11.884980%11.884980%11.9%597,078597k59.939643%9.939643%9.9%267,820268k68.922994%8.922994%8.9%334,636335k78.393129%8.393129%8.4%556,129556k87.943040%7.943040%7.9%120,847121k94.998514%4.998514%5.0%27,24527.2k103.528310%3.528310%3.5%24,07824.1k111.955632%1.955632%2.0%25,85425.9k121.342483%1.342483%1.3%12,92012.9k13
Count number of people speaking Spanish at home
# rank of state out of 13 by percentage speaking Spanish at home

Definitions

This page discusses the languages spoken at home by the residents of California, and the extent to which the report speaking English. All data are based on survey responses and were not verified in any other way. A full list of the languages recognized in the survey is as follows:

  • Armenian, Austronesian (including Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian), Arabic, Afro-Asiatic (including Amharic, Somali), Bengali, Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese), Dutch et al. (including Dutch, Afrikaans, Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch), Dravidian languages (including Malayalam, Kannada), French (including Cajun), German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian, Hindi, Hmong, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Nepali, Marathi, or other Indic languages, Navajo, Other Slavic (including Ukrainian), Other Indo-European languages, Other Asian, Other Native American, Other, Portuguese, Polish, Persian (including Farsi, Dari), Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, Swahili et al. (or other languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa), Telugu, Tamil, Tai-Kadai (including Thai, Lao), Tagalog (including Filipino), Urdu, Vietnamese, and Western African

For additional information about the data presented on this site, including our sources, please see the About Page.

More Topics to Explore

Demographics

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Major Counties:
Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Ventura
Counties:
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
Metro Areas:
Bakersfield Area, Chico Area, Clearlake Area, Crescent City Area, El Centro Area, Eureka Area, Fresno Area, Hanford Area, Los Angeles Area, Madera Area, Merced Area, Modesto Area, Napa Area, Oxnard Area, Red Bluff Area, Redding Area, Riverside Area, Sacramento Area, Salinas Area, San Diego Area, San Francisco Area, San Jose Area, San Luis Obispo Area, Santa Cruz Area, Santa Maria Area, Santa Rosa Area, Sonora Area, Stockton Area, Susanville Area, Truckee Area, Ukiah Area, Vallejo Area, Visalia Area, Yuba City Area
Major Cities:
Anaheim, Bakersfield, Chula Vista, Concord, Corona, Elk Grove, Escondido, Fontana, Fremont, Fresno, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Glendale, Hayward, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Modesto, Moreno Valley, Oakland, Oceanside, Ontario, Orange, Oxnard, Palmdale, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Roseville, Sacramento, Salinas, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santa Clarita, Santa Rosa, Simi Valley, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Victorville, Visalia
Major Unincorporated Place:
East Los Angeles
Congressional Districts:
CA-1, CA-2, CA-3, CA-4, CA-5, CA-6, CA-7, CA-8, CA-9, CA-10, CA-11, CA-12, CA-13, CA-14, CA-15, CA-16, CA-17, CA-18, CA-19, CA-20, CA-21, CA-22, CA-23, CA-24, CA-25, CA-26, CA-27, CA-28, CA-29, CA-30, CA-31, CA-32, CA-33, CA-34, CA-35, CA-36, CA-37, CA-38, CA-39, CA-40, CA-41, CA-42, CA-43, CA-44, CA-45, CA-46, CA-47, CA-48, CA-49, CA-50, CA-51, CA-52, CA-53
Assembly Districts:
CA-1, CA-2, CA-3, CA-4, CA-5, CA-6, CA-7, CA-8, CA-9, CA-10, CA-11, CA-12, CA-13, CA-14, CA-15, CA-16, CA-17, CA-18, CA-19, CA-20, CA-21, CA-22, CA-23, CA-24, CA-25, CA-26, CA-27, CA-28, CA-29, CA-30, CA-31, CA-32, CA-33, CA-34, CA-35, CA-36, CA-37, CA-38, CA-39, CA-40, CA-41, CA-42, CA-43, CA-44, CA-45, CA-46, CA-47, CA-48, CA-49, CA-50, CA-51, CA-52, CA-53, CA-54, CA-55, CA-56, CA-57, CA-58, CA-59, CA-60, CA-61, CA-62, CA-63, CA-64, CA-65, CA-66, CA-67, CA-68, CA-69, CA-70, CA-71, CA-72, CA-73, CA-74, CA-75, CA-76, CA-77, CA-78, CA-79, CA-80
State Senate Districts:
CA-1, CA-2, CA-3, CA-4, CA-5, CA-6, CA-7, CA-8, CA-9, CA-10, CA-11, CA-12, CA-13, CA-14, CA-15, CA-16, CA-17, CA-18, CA-19, CA-20, CA-21, CA-22, CA-23, CA-24, CA-25, CA-26, CA-27, CA-28, CA-29, CA-30, CA-31, CA-32, CA-33, CA-34, CA-35, CA-36, CA-37, CA-38, CA-39, CA-40
Neighboring States:
Arizona, Nevada, Oregon