Languages in Iowa (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 Iowa
Iowa
United States
0%2%4%6%8%10%12%CountSpanishGermanChinese1Serbo-CroatianVietnameseTai-Kadai2ArabicFrench3Other AsianDutch et al.4Swahili et al.53.905289%13.105530%3.905289%3.9%113,633114k0.417875%0.322889%0.417875%0.4%12,15912.2k0.398079%1.060159%0.398079%0.4%11,58311.6k0.307830%0.084315%0.307830%0.3%8,9570.266383%0.486855%0.266383%0.3%7,7510.208233%0.102331%0.208233%0.2%6,0590.200328%0.363857%0.200328%0.2%5,8290.167576%0.410100%0.167576%0.2%4,8760.154001%0.115549%0.154001%0.2%4,4810.139257%0.160191%0.139257%0.1%4,0520.125923%0.066985%0.125923%0.1%3,664
Count number of people speaking given language at home
1including Mandarin, Cantonese 2including Thai, Lao 3including Cajun 4including Dutch, Afrikaans, Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch 5or other languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa

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 Iowa
Less Than 'Very Well' 'Very Well'
United States
Iowa
50%0%50%Don'tDoGermanDutch et al.1French2Swahili et al.3ArabicSpanishSerbo-CroatianTai-Kadai4Chinese5VietnameseOther Asian-18.537709%-15.531691%-18.537709%18.5%81.462291%84.468309%81.462291%81.5%2,2549,905-23.346496%-28.911377%-23.346496%23.3%76.653504%71.088623%76.653504%76.7%9463,106-31.193601%-20.435910%-31.193601%31.2%68.806399%79.564090%68.806399%68.8%1,5213,355-39.574236%-28.792915%-39.574236%39.6%60.425764%71.207085%60.425764%60.4%1,4502,214-39.663750%-37.405871%-39.663750%39.7%60.336250%62.594129%60.336250%60.3%2,3123,517-42.726145%-41.560410%-42.726145%42.7%57.273855%58.439590%57.273855%57.3%48,55148.6k65,08265.1k-43.195266%-37.391846%-43.195266%43.2%56.804734%62.608154%56.804734%56.8%3,8695,088-50.684932%-49.973990%-50.684932%50.7%49.315068%50.026010%49.315068%49.3%3,0712,988-61.875162%-55.476722%-61.875162%61.9%38.124838%44.523278%38.124838%38.1%7,1674,416-65.862469%-58.713636%-65.862469%65.9%34.137531%41.286364%34.137531%34.1%5,1052,646-77.839768%-54.251392%-77.839768%77.8%22.160232%45.748608%22.160232%22.2%3,488993
Don't number of people that don't speak English 'very well'
Do number of people that do speak English 'very well'
1including Dutch, Afrikaans, Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch 2including Cajun 3or other languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa 4including Thai, Lao 5including Mandarin, Cantonese

Language by State in the United States

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

Spanish Spoken at Home by State#3

Percentage of the total population living in households in which Spanish is spoken.
Scope: population of Iowa, selected other states in the United States, and entities that contain Iowa
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 Midwest

There are 12 states in the Midwest. This section compares Iowa to all of the states in the Midwest and to those entities that contain or substantially overlap with Iowa.

Spanish Spoken at Home by State#14

Percentage of the total population living in households in which Spanish is spoken.
Scope: population of Iowa, selected other states in the Midwest, and entities that contain Iowa
0%5%10%Count#IllinoisUnited States of AmericaUnited StatesKansasNebraskaIndianaWisconsinIowaMinnesotaMichiganMissouriOhioSouth DakotaNorth Dakota13.232963%13.232963%13.2%1,596,0911.60M113.105530%13.105530%13.1%39,145,06639.1M7.538962%7.538962%7.5%203,505204k27.362800%7.362800%7.4%128,899129k34.626104%4.626104%4.6%285,410285k44.590155%4.590155%4.6%248,533249k53.905289%3.905289%3.9%113,633114k63.817511%3.817511%3.8%194,772195k72.925168%2.925168%2.9%273,083273k82.509444%2.509444%2.5%142,678143k92.206979%2.206979%2.2%240,366240k102.038652%2.038652%2.0%16,12516.1k111.612284%1.612284%1.6%11,04011.0k12
Count number of people speaking Spanish at home
# rank of state out of 12 by percentage speaking Spanish at home

Definitions

This page discusses the languages spoken at home by the residents of Iowa, 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

Income

Education

More Maps to Explore

Major Counties:
Black Hawk, Dallas, Dubuque, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Pottawattamie, Scott, Story, Woodbury
Counties:
Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Emmet, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, O'Brien, Osceola, Page, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth, Wright
Metro Areas:
Ames Area, Boone Area, Burlington Area, Carroll Area, Cedar Rapids Area, Clinton Area, Davenport Area, Des Moines Area, Dubuque Area, Fairfield Area, Fort Dodge Area, Fort Madison Area, Iowa City Area, Marshalltown Area, Mason City Area, Muscatine Area, Newton Area, Omaha Area, Oskaloosa Area, Ottumwa Area, Pella Area, Sioux City Area, Spencer Area, Spirit Lake Area, Storm Lake Area, Waterloo Area
Major Cities:
Altoona, Ames, Ankeny, Bettendorf, Boone, Burlington, Carroll, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Clive, Coralville, Council Bluffs, Creston, Davenport, Decorah, Denison, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fairfield, Fort Dodge, Fort Madison, Grimes, Grinnell, Indianola, Iowa City, Johnston, Keokuk, Le Mars, Marion, Marshalltown, Mason City, Mount Pleasant, Muscatine, Newton, North Liberty, Norwalk, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Pella, Perry, Pleasant Hill, Sioux City, Spencer, Storm Lake, Urbandale, Waterloo, Waukee, Waverly, West Des Moines
Congressional Districts:
IA-1, IA-2, IA-3, IA-4
State House Districts:
IA-1, IA-2, IA-3, IA-4, IA-5, IA-6, IA-7, IA-8, IA-9, IA-10, IA-11, IA-12, IA-13, IA-14, IA-15, IA-16, IA-17, IA-18, IA-19, IA-20, IA-21, IA-22, IA-23, IA-24, IA-25, IA-26, IA-27, IA-28, IA-29, IA-30, IA-31, IA-32, IA-33, IA-34, IA-35, IA-36, IA-37, IA-38, IA-39, IA-40, IA-41, IA-42, IA-43, IA-44, IA-45, IA-46, IA-47, IA-48, IA-49, IA-50, IA-51, IA-52, IA-53, IA-54, IA-55, IA-56, IA-57, IA-58, IA-59, IA-60, IA-61, IA-62, IA-63, IA-64, IA-65, IA-66, IA-67, IA-68, IA-69, IA-70, IA-71, IA-72, IA-73, IA-74, IA-75, IA-76, IA-77, IA-78, IA-79, IA-80, IA-81, IA-82, IA-83, IA-84, IA-85, IA-86, IA-87, IA-88, IA-89, IA-90, IA-91, IA-92, IA-93, IA-94, IA-95, IA-96, IA-97, IA-98, IA-99, IA-100
State Senate Districts:
IA-1, IA-2, IA-3, IA-4, IA-5, IA-6, IA-7, IA-8, IA-9, IA-10, IA-11, IA-12, IA-13, IA-14, IA-15, IA-16, IA-17, IA-18, IA-19, IA-20, IA-21, IA-22, IA-23, IA-24, IA-25, IA-26, IA-27, IA-28, IA-29, IA-30, IA-31, IA-32, IA-33, IA-34, IA-35, IA-36, IA-37, IA-38, IA-39, IA-40, IA-41, IA-42, IA-43, IA-44, IA-45, IA-46, IA-47, IA-48, IA-49, IA-50
Neighboring States:
Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin