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Demographic Data
A federally conducted or funded program should consider assessing the number or proportion of limited English proficient (LEP) persons from each language group in its service area to determine appropriate language assistance services. This analysis includes persons in a geographic service area with whom your agency comes into contact with while carrying out agency functions. For the assessment to be accurate it must also include all communities who are eligible for services or are likely directly affected by programs or activities. Agencies may determine the linguistic characteristics of an LEP population in a service area by reviewing available data from federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as community based organizations. Below are federal and non-government sources of language data that can assist your agency in assessing the LEP communities in your service area.
Federal Sources
U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey (ACS) maintain statistics on the linguistic composition of LEP individuals in your service area. The two main sources of data: Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS). There are major differences between the decennial Census and ACS (from the presentaiton Accessing and Using Language Data from the Census Bureau (PPT):
- The decennial Census through the year 2000 used both a “short” and a “long” form for data collection, with the long form containing questions about language spoken at home and ability to speak English.
- Detailed data, historically collected on the long form in the Decennial Census, are now collected every year in the ACS.
- The ACS publishes population and housing information every year instead of only once every ten years.
- ACS data are period estimates, describing the average characteristics over a several year period in which the sample was collected and aggregated.
- The ACS has not collected data over enough years yet to allow publishing estimates for all the geographic entities available with Census 2000 data.
- ACS releases 3-year and 1-year estimates for large geographic areas such as states and counties with sufficiently large sample sizes.
- 5-years of sample data are needed for the ACS to produce estimates comparable to the Census 2000 long form sample.
- The ACS estimates have already published data for states and most counties, and will include the same small geographic areas as Census 2000 beginning in 2010.
- The ACS has a smaller sample size for 5-year estimates compared with the Census 2000 sample, which results in reductions in reliability of estimates—it is important to consider margins of error.
- The Census 2010 focused on the count and basic demographics (formerly known as the “short form”).
- It is important to note that language data tables from both the Decennial Census and the ACS may provide specific language data only on Spanish speakers. These data tables also provide data on broad language categories such as “”Other Indo European Languages,” “Asian and Pacific Island Languages,” and “All other Languages” but do not provide data for specific languages within these categories.
- In searching for specific data on languages other than Spanish, you may need to seek additional sources to supplement Decennial Census and ACS data.
Glossaries
The Census Bureau’s glossaries are a good place to start to understand commonly used terms such as “ability to speak English,” “block group,” “census tract,” “race,” and “ethnic groups.” The list below contains a few helpful options to identify terms but is not an exhaustive list of the resources for locating definitions on the Census Bureau’s website.
Census Bureau’s Language Use Information
Language Use in the United States: 2007 (ACS)
Detailed Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Older by States: 2006-2008 (ACS) Detailed Tables » [XLS - 850k]
Census 2000 Language Data
The Census 2000 Brief on national language data contains useful overview information.
Summary File 3: Language Data Tables:
How to examine data for one or more particular geographic areas: From the link above, select “Census 2000 Summary File 3” (SF 3); from the list to the right of SF 3, select “List all tables” or enter a table number (e.g., PCT11) from “Enter a table number.
The following are language data tables that may be useful:
- P19 Age by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over
P20 Household Language by Linguistic Isolation
- PCT10 Age by Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over **This data table provides the largest number of language groups (39) of any of the tables listed here.
- PCT11 Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over (HISPANIC OR LATINO)
- PCT12 Nativity by Language Spoken at Home By Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over
- PCT 13 Age by Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over in Linguistically Isolated Households
- PCT 14 Language Density by Linguistic Isolation by Age for the Population 5 Years and Over in Households
- PCT62A-I Age by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over (A-I tables correspond to specified race
Note: to show a table with many areas, such as all counties within a state, choose the “Geo within Geo” tab and fill in the areas of interest.
Related Census Publications
American Community Survey (ACS)
Questions and Answers about ACS
Accessing and Using Language Data from the Census Bureau: A PowerPoint presentation from the 2007 Federal Interagency Conference on Limited English Proficiency. This provides answers to frequently asked questions and a step by step guide to accessing data sets from the American Community Survey.
General Origin & Language Information
Origins & Language Data (primarily national-level data)
American Community Survey Data Sets:
How to examine data for one or more particular geographic areas: From the link above, select relevant ACS year, then from the list on the right select a table number (e.g., B16001) from “List all tables” or enter a table number from “Enter a table number.” The following are language data tables that may be useful.
- B06007 Place of Birth by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
- B08113 Means of Transportation to Work by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
- B08114 Aggregate Travel Time to Work by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
- B16001 For the Population 5 Years and Over Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English ** This data table provides the largest number of language groups (39) of any of the tables listed here.
- B16002 Households Household Language by Linguistic Isolation
- B16003 Age by Language Spoken at Home in Linguistically Isolated Households for Population 5+ Years
- B16004 Age by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5+ Years
- B16005 Nativity by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English (B16005 A-I = 9 tables by race plus total)
- B16006 Hispanic or Latino Population 5 Years and Over by Language Spoken at Home
- B16007 Age by Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5+ Years
- B16008 Citizenship Status by Age by Language Spoken at Home
- B16009 Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months by Age by Language Spoken at Home
- B16010 For the Population 25 Years and Over Educational Attainment and Employment Status by Language Spoken at Home
Special Tabulations of Census data involving language include:
STP194 - Language Spoken at Home for the Citizen Population 18 Years and Over Who Speak English Less Than “Very Well”
- For U.S. counties and states, four language groups are shown: Spanish or Spanish Creole, Other Indo-European, Asian or Pacific Island, Other.
- For data to be shown there must be three un-weighted speakers of a given language group in different households.
STP224 - Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over- For geographic areas down to census tracts, detailed languages are shown for each geographic area if there are at least three un-weighted speakers of a given language group in different households.
Older Population - The Special Tabulation on Aging (STA) is a set of 116 population tables and 69 housing and household tables which were tabulated by the Census Bureau for AoA from the Census 2000 sample ("long form") data. The topics covered in these tabulations include age, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, marital status, income, poverty, disability, and much more. This tabulation provides much more detail on the older population (60+) than is available from other Census sources.
Department of Education
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor Census Data Special Tabulation on LEP Status for states and Workforce Investment Areas (which are often counties)
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
SNAPS, Snap Shots of State Population Data, provides local-level community profile information nationwide, including top 5 languages spoken at home and countries of origin. It can be browsed by county and state and searched by zip code.
Non-Government Sites
The resources provided below are a sampling of links that may be useful but are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Justice or by the Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP.
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