Languages in Massachusetts (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 Massachusetts
Massachusetts
United States
0%5%10%CountSpanishPortugueseChinese1HaitianFrench2VietnameseRussianItalianArabicOther Indo-European languagesOther Indo-Europe…GreekKhmerHindiGermanPolishKoreanWestern AfricanSwahili et al.3Nepali, Marathi, or other Indic languagesNepali, Marathi, or …Gujarati8.603765%13.105530%8.603765%8.6%548,794549k2.822279%0.234186%2.822279%2.8%180,020180k1.953302%1.060159%1.953302%2.0%124,592125k1.156645%0.269929%1.156645%1.2%73,77773.8k0.857721%0.410100%0.857721%0.9%54,71054.7k0.627464%0.486855%0.627464%0.6%40,02340.0k0.608024%0.301383%0.608024%0.6%38,78338.8k0.553011%0.212663%0.553011%0.6%35,27435.3k0.543291%0.363857%0.543291%0.5%34,65434.7k0.386907%0.184459%0.386907%0.4%24,67924.7k0.362168%0.097388%0.362168%0.4%23,10123.1k0.353341%0.069842%0.353341%0.4%22,53822.5k0.324134%0.247020%0.324134%0.3%20,67520.7k0.265186%0.322889%0.265186%0.3%16,91516.9k0.257285%0.181071%0.257285%0.3%16,41116.4k0.255513%0.369818%0.255513%0.3%16,29816.3k0.227184%0.153965%0.227184%0.2%14,49114.5k0.216743%0.066985%0.216743%0.2%13,82513.8k0.214673%0.119832%0.214673%0.2%13,69313.7k0.169412%0.132246%0.169412%0.2%10,80610.8k
Count number of people speaking given language at home
1including Mandarin, Cantonese 2including Cajun 3or 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 Massachusetts
Less Than 'Very Well' 'Very Well'
United States
Massachusetts
50%0%50%Don'tDoGermanFrench1HindiItalianGreekSwahili et al.2Western AfricanOther Indo-European languagesOther Indo-Europe…PolishNepali, Marathi, or other Indic languagesNepali, Marathi, or …RussianGujaratiSpanishArabicKoreanPortugueseHaitianKhmerChinese3Vietnamese-9.358557%-15.531691%-9.358557%9.4%90.641443%84.468309%90.641443%90.6%1,58315,33215.3k-18.471943%-20.435910%-18.471943%18.5%81.528057%79.564090%81.528057%81.5%10,10610.1k44,60444.6k-20.401451%-20.627763%-20.401451%20.4%79.598549%79.372237%79.598549%79.6%4,21816,45716.5k-26.141067%-26.578506%-26.141067%26.1%73.858933%73.421494%73.858933%73.9%9,22126,05326.1k-26.756417%-25.476984%-26.756417%26.8%73.243583%74.523016%73.243583%73.2%6,18116,92016.9k-27.211573%-28.792915%-27.211573%27.2%72.788427%71.207085%72.788427%72.8%3,76210,06310.1k-28.314126%-22.479560%-28.314126%28.3%71.685874%77.520440%71.685874%71.7%4,10310,38810.4k-33.319827%-30.386196%-33.319827%33.3%66.680173%69.613804%66.680173%66.7%8,22316,45616.5k-34.361099%-39.289221%-34.361099%34.4%65.638901%60.710779%65.638901%65.6%5,63910,77210.8k-36.668371%-39.254822%-36.668371%36.7%63.331629%60.745178%63.331629%63.3%5,0218,672-39.666864%-44.829344%-39.666864%39.7%60.333136%55.170656%60.333136%60.3%15,38415.4k23,39923.4k-40.708865%-34.550527%-40.708865%40.7%59.291135%65.449473%59.291135%59.3%4,3996,407-41.125450%-41.560410%-41.125450%41.1%58.874550%58.439590%58.874550%58.9%225,694226k323,100323k-41.539216%-37.405871%-41.539216%41.5%58.460784%62.594129%58.460784%58.5%14,39514.4k20,25920.3k-42.213769%-54.055576%-42.213769%42.2%57.786231%45.944424%57.786231%57.8%6,8809,418-43.497389%-36.093908%-43.497389%43.5%56.502611%63.906092%56.502611%56.5%78,30478.3k101,716102k-44.408149%-41.592228%-44.408149%44.4%55.591851%58.407772%55.591851%55.6%32,76332.8k41,01441.0k-48.083237%-51.044288%-48.083237%48.1%51.916763%48.955712%51.916763%51.9%10,83710.8k11,70111.7k-50.915789%-55.476722%-50.915789%50.9%49.084211%44.523278%49.084211%49.1%63,43763.4k61,15561.2k-61.189816%-58.713636%-61.189816%61.2%38.810184%41.286364%38.810184%38.8%24,49024.5k15,53315.5k
Don't number of people that don't speak English 'very well'
Do number of people that do speak English 'very well'
1including Cajun 2or other languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa 3including Mandarin, Cantonese

Language by State in the United States

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

Spanish Spoken at Home by State#3

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

There are 9 states in the Northeast. This section compares Massachusetts to all of the states in the Northeast and to those entities that contain or substantially overlap with Massachusetts.

Spanish Spoken at Home by State#23

Percentage of the total population living in households in which Spanish is spoken.
Scope: population of Massachusetts, selected other states in the Northeast, and entities that contain Massachusetts
0%5%10%15%Count#New JerseyNew YorkUnited States of AmericaUnited StatesRhode IslandConnecticutMassachusettsPennsylvaniaNew HampshireVermontMaine15.926284%15.926284%15.9%1,335,7291.34M115.032768%15.032768%15.0%2,785,0812.79M213.105530%13.105530%13.1%39,145,06639.1M11.632811%11.632811%11.6%116,296116k311.517761%11.517761%11.5%391,576392k48.603765%8.603765%8.6%548,794549k54.670721%4.670721%4.7%563,727564k62.092448%2.092448%2.1%26,42426.4k71.036265%1.036265%1.0%6,17580.902214%0.902214%0.9%11,41111.4k9
Count number of people speaking Spanish at home
# rank of state out of 9 by percentage speaking Spanish at home

Definitions

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

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Major Counties:
Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester
Counties:
Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester
Metro Areas:
Barnstable Town Area, Boston Area, Greenfield Town Area, Pittsfield Area, Providence Area, Springfield Area, Vineyard Haven Area, Worcester Area
Major Cities:
Agawam Town, Attleboro, Barnstable Town, Beverly, Boston, Braintree Town, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Franklin Town, Gloucester, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Marlborough, Medford, Methuen Town, New Bedford, Newton, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Somerville, Springfield, Taunton, Waltham, Watertown Town, West Springfield Town, Westfield, Weymouth Town, Woburn, Worcester
Major Unincorporated Places:
Arlington, Brookline, Framingham, Lexington, Needham, Norwood, Randolph, Wellesley
Congressional Districts:
MA-1, MA-2, MA-3, MA-4, MA-5, MA-6, MA-7, MA-8, MA-9
Lower State Legislative Districts:
MA-1st Barnstable, MA-1st Berkshire, MA-1st Bristol, MA-1st Essex, MA-1st Franklin, MA-1st Hampden, MA-1st Hampshire, MA-1st Middlesex, MA-1st Norfolk, MA-1st Plymouth, MA-1st Suffolk, MA-1st Worcester, MA-2nd Barnstable, MA-2nd Berkshire, MA-2nd Bristol, MA-2nd Essex, MA-2nd Franklin, MA-2nd Hampden, MA-2nd Hampshire, MA-2nd Middlesex, MA-2nd Norfolk, MA-2nd Plymouth, MA-2nd Suffolk, MA-2nd Worcester, MA-3rd Barnstable, MA-3rd Berkshire, MA-3rd Bristol, MA-3rd Essex, MA-3rd Hampden, MA-3rd Hampshire, MA-3rd Middlesex, MA-3rd Norfolk, MA-3rd Plymouth, MA-3rd Suffolk, MA-3rd Worcester, MA-4th Barnstable, MA-4th Berkshire, MA-4th Bristol, MA-4th Essex, MA-4th Hampden, MA-4th Middlesex, MA-4th Norfolk, MA-4th Plymouth, MA-4th Suffolk, MA-4th Worcester, MA-5th Barnstable, MA-5th Bristol, MA-5th Essex, MA-5th Hampden, MA-5th Middlesex, MA-5th Norfolk, MA-5th Plymouth, MA-5th Suffolk, MA-5th Worcester, MA-6th Bristol, MA-6th Essex, MA-6th Hampden, MA-6th Middlesex, MA-6th Norfolk, MA-6th Plymouth, MA-6th Suffolk, MA-6th Worcester, MA-7th Bristol, MA-7th Essex, MA-7th Hampden, MA-7th Middlesex, MA-7th Norfolk, MA-7th Plymouth, MA-7th Suffolk, MA-7th Worcester, MA-8th Bristol, MA-8th Essex, MA-8th Hampden, MA-8th Middlesex, MA-8th Norfolk, MA-8th Plymouth, MA-8th Suffolk, MA-8th Worcester, MA-9th Bristol, MA-9th Essex, MA-9th Hampden, MA-9th Middlesex, MA-9th Norfolk, MA-9th Plymouth, MA-9th Suffolk, MA-9th Worcester, MA-10th Bristol, MA-10th Essex, MA-10th Hampden, MA-10th Middlesex, MA-10th Norfolk, MA-10th Plymouth, MA-10th Suffolk, MA-10th Worcester, MA-11th Bristol, MA-11th Essex, MA-11th Hampden, MA-11th Middlesex, MA-11th Norfolk, MA-11th Plymouth, MA-11th Suffolk, MA-11th Worcester, MA-12th Bristol, MA-12th Essex, MA-12th Hampden, MA-12th Middlesex, MA-12th Norfolk, MA-12th Plymouth, MA-12th Suffolk, MA-12th Worcester, MA-13th Bristol, MA-13th Essex, MA-13th Middlesex, MA-13th Norfolk, MA-13th Suffolk, MA-13th Worcester, MA-14th Bristol, MA-14th Essex, MA-14th Middlesex, MA-14th Norfolk, MA-14th Suffolk, MA-14th Worcester, MA-15th Essex, MA-15th Middlesex, MA-15th Norfolk, MA-15th Suffolk, MA-15th Worcester, MA-16th Essex, MA-16th Middlesex, MA-16th Suffolk, MA-16th Worcester, MA-17th Essex, MA-17th Middlesex, MA-17th Suffolk, MA-17th Worcester, MA-18th Essex, MA-18th Middlesex, MA-18th Suffolk, MA-18th Worcester, MA-19th Middlesex, MA-19th Suffolk, MA-20th Middlesex, MA-21st Middlesex, MA-22nd Middlesex, MA-23rd Middlesex, MA-24th Middlesex, MA-25th Middlesex, MA-26th Middlesex, MA-27th Middlesex, MA-28th Middlesex, MA-29th Middlesex, MA-30th Middlesex, MA-31st Middlesex, MA-32nd Middlesex, MA-33rd Middlesex, MA-34th Middlesex, MA-35th Middlesex, MA-36th Middlesex, MA-37th Middlesex, MA-Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket
Upper State Legislative Districts:
MA-Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden, MA-Bristol and Norfolk, MA-Cape and Islands, MA-5th Middlesex, MA-1st Bristol and Plymouth, MA-1st Essex and Middlesex, MA-1st Essex, MA-1st Hampden and Hampshire, MA-1st Middlesex and Norfolk, MA-1st Middlesex, MA-1st Plymouth and Bristol, MA-1st Suffolk and Middlesex, MA-1st Suffolk, MA-1st Worcester, MA-4th Middlesex, MA-Hampden, MA-Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester, MA-Middlesex and Suffolk, MA-Middlesex and Worcester, MA-Norfolk and Plymouth, MA-Norfolk and Suffolk, MA-Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex, MA-Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth, MA-Plymouth and Barnstable, MA-Plymouth and Norfolk, MA-2nd Bristol and Plymouth, MA-2nd Essex and Middlesex, MA-2nd Essex, MA-2nd Hampden and Hampshire, MA-2nd Middlesex and Norfolk, MA-2nd Middlesex, MA-2nd Plymouth and Bristol, MA-2nd Suffolk and Middlesex, MA-2nd Suffolk, MA-2nd Worcester, MA-3rd Essex, MA-3rd Middlesex, MA-Worcester and Middlesex, MA-Worcester and Norfolk, MA-Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex
Neighboring States:
Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont