E.g., 07/08/2026
E.g., 07/08/2026

State Language Data - WA

 
Washington
United States
Language & Education
2024
2024
English Proficiency Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 1,271,845
Speak only English 17.7%
Speak English "very well" 42.0%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 40.3%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2024 83.5%
% change: 1990-2000 142.2%
English Proficiency of the Foreign Born by U.S. Citizenship Status (age 5 and older)*  
Naturalized citizens 638,614
Speak only English 22.4%
Speak English "very well" 44%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 33.6%
Noncitizens 633,231
Speak only English 12.9%
Speak English "very well" 40%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 47.1%
U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 6,267,820
Speak only English 89.9%
Speak English ""very well"" 8.6%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1.5%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2011 33.7%
% change: 1990-2000 40.8%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
English Proficiency Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 49,828,046
Speak only English 16.3%
Speak English "very well" 36.6%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 47.1%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2019 49.7%
% change: 1990-2000 71.8%
English Proficiency of the Foreign Born by U.S. Citizenship Status (age 5 and older)*  
Naturalized citizens 25,786,696
Speak only English 20.6%
Speak English "very well" 42.8%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 36.6%
Noncitizens 24,041,350
Speak only English 11.7%
Speak English "very well" 29.9%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 58.4%
U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 271,917,897
Speak only English 88.1%
Speak English ""very well"" 9.9%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2.0%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2011 -3.4%
% change: 1990-2000 17.6%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
Population (age 5 and older)
Population (age 5 and older)
Language Spoken at Home (by age and English proficiency) Number
Ages 5-17 1,233,534
Speak only English 946,905
Speak language other than English 286,629
Speak English "very well"
222,280
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
64,349
Speak Spanish 154,449
Speak English "very well"
114,774
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
39,675
Ages 18-64 4,927,623
Speak only English 3,707,181
Speak language other than English 1,220,442
Speak English "very well"
780,209
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
440,233
Speak Spanish 485,806
Speak English "very well"
291,567
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
194,239
65 and Older 1,378,508
Speak only English 1,204,706
Speak language other than English 173,802
Speak English "very well"
69,980
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
103,822
Speak Spanish 44,776
Speak English "very well"
21,351
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
23,425
%
65 and Older 100%
Speak only English 76.8%
Speak language other than English 23.2%
Speak English "very well" 18.0%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 5.2%
Speak Spanish 12.5%
Speak English "very well" 9.3%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 3.2%
Ages 18-64 100%
Speak only English 75.2%
Speak language other than English 24.8%
Speak English "very well" 15.8%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 8.9%
Speak Spanish 9.9%
Speak English "very well" 5.9%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 3.9%
Ages 5-17 100%
Speak only English 87.4%
Speak language other than English 12.6%
Speak English "very well" 5.1%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 7.5%
Speak Spanish 3.2%
Speak English "very well" 1.5%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 1.7%
Language Spoken at Home (by age and English proficiency) Number
Ages 5-17 54,564,265
Speak only English 42,535,284
Speak language other than English 12,028,981
Speak English "very well"
9,135,742
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
2,893,239
Speak Spanish 8,180,233
Speak English "very well"
6,197,548
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
1,982,685
Ages 18-64 205,936,395
Speak only English 153,806,200
Speak language other than English 52,130,195
Speak English "very well"
31,670,049
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
20,460,146
Speak Spanish 31,758,986
Speak English "very well"
18,188,756
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
13,570,230
65 and Older 61,245,283
Speak only English 51,353,626
Speak language other than English 9,891,657
Speak English "very well"
4,326,294
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
5,565,363
Speak Spanish 4,928,480
Speak English "very well"
2,049,174
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
2,879,306
%
65 and Older 100%
Speak only English 78.0%
Speak language other than English 22.0%
Speak English "very well" 16.7%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 5.3%
Speak Spanish 15.0%
Speak English "very well" 11.4%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 3.6%
Ages 18-64 100%
Speak only English 74.7%
Speak language other than English 25.3%
Speak English "very well" 15.4%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 9.9%
Speak Spanish 15.4%
Speak English "very well" 8.8%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 6.6%
Ages 5-17 100%
Speak only English 83.8%
Speak language other than English 16.2%
Speak English "very well" 7.1%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 9.1%
Speak Spanish 8.0%
Speak English "very well" 3.3%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 4.7%
 
Population (age 5 and older)
Population (age 5 and older)
Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency) Number
Total Household Population, Age 5 and Older 7,539,665
Speak only English 5,858,792
Speak language other than English 1,680,873
Spanish 685,031
Speak English "very well" 427,692
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 257,339
French (Including Cajun) 28,243
Speak English "very well" 22,286
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,957
Haitian 731
Speak English "very well" 269
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 462
Italian 6,348
Speak English "very well" 6,024
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 324
Portuguese 17,008
Speak English "very well" 11,341
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,667
German 24,213
Speak English "very well" 21,339
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,874
Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch or Other West Germanic Languages 6,132
Speak English "very well" 5,570
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 562
Russian 58,539
Speak English "very well" 36,804
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 21,735
Polish 5,025
Speak English "very well" 3,945
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,080
Other Slavic Languages 51,084
Speak English "very well" 24,102
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 26,982
Armenian 1,923
Speak English "very well" 1,165
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 758
Persian (including Farsi, Dari) 22,972
Speak English "very well" 11,731
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 11,241
Gujarati 6,504
Speak English "very well" 5,834
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 670
Hindi 45,281
Speak English "very well" 40,365
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4,916
Urdu 9,651
Speak English "very well" 8,016
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,635
Punjabi 22,200
Speak English "very well" 11,672
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 10,528
Bengali 6,291
Speak English "very well" 4,654
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,637
Nepali, Marathi, or Other Indic Languages 12,342
Speak English "very well" 9,931
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,411
Other Indo-European Languages 27,759
Speak English "very well" 21,365
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 6,394
Telugu 24,747
Speak English "very well" 20,516
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4,231
Tamil 18,337
Speak English "very well" 16,632
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,705
Malayalam, Kannada, or Other Dravidian Languages 11,170
Speak English "very well" 9,492
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,678
Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese) 160,131
Speak English "very well" 92,536
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 67,595
Japanese 27,637
Speak English "very well" 19,802
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 7,835
Korean 58,590
Speak English "very well" 28,873
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 29,717
Hmong 1,550
Speak English "very well" 1,233
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 317
Vietnamese 73,907
Speak English "very well" 31,750
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 42,157
Khmer 16,110
Speak English "very well" 8,015
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 8,095
Thai, Lao, or Other Tai-Kadai Languages 16,087
Speak English "very well" 8,317
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 7,770
Other Languages of Asia 12,595
Speak English "very well" 7,559
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,036
Tagalog (including Filipino) 69,772
Speak English "very well" 47,891
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 21,881
Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian, or Other Austronesian Languages 35,256
Speak English "very well" 24,111
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 11,145
Arabic 28,051
Speak English "very well" 20,852
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 7,199
Hebrew 3,916
Speak English "very well" 3,028
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 888
Amharic, Somali, or Other Afro-Asiatic Languages 39,957
Speak English "very well" 24,637
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 15,320
Yoruba, Twi, Igbo, or Other Languages of Western Africa 14,949
Speak English "very well" 10,787
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4,162
Swahili or Other Languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa 16,843
Speak English "very well" 11,618
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,225
Native Languages of North America 4,687
Speak English "very well" 3,428
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,259
Other and Unspecified Languages 9,304
Speak English "very well" 7,287
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,017
%
Field 306 100%
Field 307 77.7%
Field 308 22.3%
Field 310 100%
Field 310 62.4%
Field 310 37.6%
Field 313 100%
Field 314 78.9%
Field 315 21.1%
Field 316 100%
Field 316 36.8%
Field 316 63.2%
Field 319 100%
Field 319 94.9%
Field 319 5.1%
Field 322 100%
Field 322 66.7%
Field 322 33.3%
Field 325 100%
Field 325 88.1%
Field 325 11.9%
Field 328 100%
Field 328 90.8%
Field 328 9.2%
Field 331 100%
Field 331 62.9%
Field 331 37.1%
Field 334 100%
Field 334 78.5%
Field 334 21.5%
Field 337 100%
Field 337 47.2%
Field 337 52.8%
Field 340 100%
Field 340 60.6%
Field 340 39.4%
Field 343 100%
Field 343 51.1%
Field 343 48.9%
Field 346 100%
Field 346 89.7%
Field 346 10.3%
Field 349 100%
Field 349 89.1%
Field 349 10.9%
Field 352 100%
Field 352 83.1%
Field 352 16.9%
Field 355 100%
Field 355 52.6%
Field 355 47.4%
Field 358 100%
Field 358 74.0%
Field 358 26.0%
Field 361 100%
Field 361 80.5%
Field 361 19.5%
Field 364 100%
Field 364 77.0%
Field 364 23.0%
Field 367 100%
Field 367 82.9%
Field 367 17.1%
Field 370 100%
Field 370 90.7%
Field 370 9.3%
Field 373 100%
Field 373 85.0%
Field 373 15.0%
Field 376 100%
Field 376 57.8%
Field 376 42.2%
Field 379 100%
Field 379 71.7%
Field 379 28.3%
Field 382 100%
Field 382 49.3%
Field 382 50.7%
Field 385 100%
Field 385 79.5%
Field 385 20.5%
Field 388 100%
Field 388 43.0%
Field 388 57.0%
Field 391 100%
Field 391 49.8%
Field 391 50.2%
Field 394 100%
Field 394 51.7%
Field 394 48.3%
Field 397 100%
Field 397 60.0%
Field 397 40.0%
Field 400 100%
Field 400 68.6%
Field 400 31.4%
Field 403 100%
Field 403 68.4%
Field 403 31.6%
Field 406 100%
Field 406 74.3%
Field 406 25.7%
Field 409 100%
Field 409 77.3%
Field 409 22.7%
Field 412 100%
Field 412 61.7%
Field 412 38.3%
Field 415 100%
Field 415 72.2%
Field 415 27.8%
Field 418 100%
Field 418 69.0%
Field 418 31.0%
Field 421 100%
Field 421 73.1%
Field 421 26.9%
Field 424 100%
Field 424 78.3%
Field 424 21.7%
Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency) Number
Total Household Population, Age 5 and Older 321,745,943
Speak only English 247,695,110
Speak language other than English 74,050,833
Spanish 44,867,699
Speak English "very well" 26,435,478
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 18,432,221
French (Including Cajun) 1,276,702
Speak English "very well" 997,472
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 279,230
Haitian 1,041,231
Speak English "very well" 586,261
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 454,970
Italian 507,347
Speak English "very well" 398,703
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 108,644
Portuguese 1,099,503
Speak English "very well" 705,493
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 394,010
German 874,078
Speak English "very well" 746,428
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 127,650
Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch or Other West Germanic Languages 650,320
Speak English "very well" 425,211
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 225,109
Russian 1,021,165
Speak English "very well" 591,787
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 429,378
Polish 508,512
Speak English "very well" 322,757
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 185,755
Other Slavic Languages 789,577
Speak English "very well" 477,881
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 311,696
Armenian 267,904
Speak English "very well" 158,274
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 109,630
Persian (including Farsi, Dari) 570,013
Speak English "very well" 356,447
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 213,566
Gujarati 491,551
Speak English "very well" 343,056
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 148,495
Hindi 1,059,933
Speak English "very well" 885,303
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 174,630
Urdu 561,196
Speak English "very well" 413,018
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 148,178
Punjabi 382,413
Speak English "very well" 231,966
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 150,447
Bengali 494,034
Speak English "very well" 284,491
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 209,543
Nepali, Marathi, or Other Indic Languages 508,113
Speak English "very well" 343,244
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 164,869
Other Indo-European Languages 934,495
Speak English "very well" 657,728
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 276,767
Telugu 605,544
Speak English "very well" 501,345
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 104,199
Tamil 359,838
Speak English "very well" 310,178
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 49,660
Malayalam, Kannada, or Other Dravidian Languages 325,060
Speak English "very well" 255,960
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 69,100
Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese) 3,734,956
Speak English "very well" 1,839,955
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,895,001
Japanese 471,742
Speak English "very well" 292,644
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 179,098
Korean 1,150,701
Speak English "very well" 584,712
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 565,989
Hmong 230,698
Speak English "very well" 139,414
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 91,284
Vietnamese 1,599,409
Speak English "very well" 681,199
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 918,210
Khmer 190,601
Speak English "very well" 88,001
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 102,600
Thai, Lao, or Other Tai-Kadai Languages 301,051
Speak English "very well" 147,035
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 154,016
Other Languages of Asia 535,684
Speak English "very well" 286,508
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 249,176
Tagalog (including Filipino) 1,921,526
Speak English "very well" 1,336,802
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 584,724
Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian, or Other Austronesian Languages 502,152
Speak English "very well" 328,913
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 173,239
Arabic 1,484,439
Speak English "very well" 971,146
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 513,293
Hebrew 243,747
Speak English "very well" 210,823
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 32,924
Amharic, Somali, or Other Afro-Asiatic Languages 638,785
Speak English "very well" 399,799
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 238,986
Yoruba, Twi, Igbo, or Other Languages of Western Africa 773,238
Speak English "very well" 624,013
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 149,225
Swahili or Other Languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa 404,069
Speak English "very well" 265,181
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 138,888
Native Languages of North America 299,827
Speak English "very well" 239,197
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 60,630
Other and Unspecified Languages 371,980
Speak English "very well" 268,262
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 103,718
%
Field 306 100%
Field 307 77.0%
Field 308 23.0%
Field 310 100%
Field 310 58.9%
Field 310 41.1%
Field 313 100%
Field 314 78.1%
Field 315 21.9%
Field 316 100%
Field 316 56.3%
Field 316 43.7%
Field 319 100%
Field 319 78.6%
Field 319 21.4%
Field 322 100%
Field 322 64.2%
Field 322 35.8%
Field 325 100%
Field 325 85.4%
Field 325 14.6%
Field 328 100%
Field 328 65.4%
Field 328 34.6%
Field 331 100%
Field 331 58.0%
Field 331 42.0%
Field 334 100%
Field 334 63.5%
Field 334 36.5%
Field 337 100%
Field 337 60.5%
Field 337 39.5%
Field 340 100%
Field 340 59.1%
Field 340 40.9%
Field 343 100%
Field 343 62.5%
Field 343 37.5%
Field 346 100%
Field 346 69.8%
Field 346 30.2%
Field 349 100%
Field 349 83.5%
Field 349 16.5%
Field 352 100%
Field 352 73.6%
Field 352 26.4%
Field 355 100%
Field 355 60.7%
Field 355 39.3%
Field 358 100%
Field 358 57.6%
Field 358 42.4%
Field 361 100%
Field 361 67.6%
Field 361 32.4%
Field 364 100%
Field 364 70.4%
Field 364 29.6%
Field 367 100%
Field 367 82.8%
Field 367 17.2%
Field 370 100%
Field 370 86.2%
Field 370 13.8%
Field 373 100%
Field 373 78.7%
Field 373 21.3%
Field 376 100%
Field 376 49.3%
Field 376 50.7%
Field 379 100%
Field 379 62.0%
Field 379 38.0%
Field 382 100%
Field 382 50.8%
Field 382 49.2%
Field 385 100%
Field 385 60.4%
Field 385 39.6%
Field 388 100%
Field 388 42.6%
Field 388 57.4%
Field 391 100%
Field 391 46.2%
Field 391 53.8%
Field 394 100%
Field 394 48.8%
Field 394 51.2%
Field 397 100%
Field 397 53.5%
Field 397 46.5%
Field 400 100%
Field 400 69.6%
Field 400 30.4%
Field 403 100%
Field 403 65.5%
Field 403 34.5%
Field 406 100%
Field 406 65.4%
Field 406 34.6%
Field 409 100%
Field 409 86.5%
Field 409 13.5%
Field 412 100%
Field 412 62.6%
Field 412 37.4%
Field 415 100%
Field 415 80.7%
Field 415 19.3%
Field 418 100%
Field 418 65.6%
Field 418 34.4%
Field 421 100%
Field 421 79.8%
Field 421 20.2%
Field 424 100%
Field 424 72.1%
Field 424 27.9%
Educational Attainment Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 1,124,676
Less than high school diploma 18.1%
High school diploma or GED 17.7%
Some college or associate's degree 19.3%
Bachelor's degree 22.3%
Graduate or professional degree 22.7%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 46.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher 21.9%
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2024 43.2%
% change: 1990-2000 78.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2024 301.4%
% change: 1990-2000 122.2%
Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status (foreign-born adults, age 25 and older)  
Naturalized citizens (%) 592,344
Less than high school diploma 12.8%
High school diploma or GED 17.2%
Some college or associate's degree 24.1%
Bachelor's degree 25.7%
Graduate or professional degree 20.2%
Noncitizens (%) 532,332
Less than high school diploma 24.1%
High school diploma or GED 18.2%
Some college or associate's degree 13.9%
Bachelor's degree 18.4%
Graduate or professional degree 25.5%
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 4,506,784
Less than high school diploma 5.1%
High school diploma or GED 21.9%
Some college or associate's degree 32.9%
Bachelor's degree 24.9%
Graduate or professional degree 15.1%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Nothing  
Nothing  
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2011 -34.4%
% change: 1990-2000 -17.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2011 92.2%
% change: 1990-2000 43.1%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Educational Attainment Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 44,136,455
Less than high school diploma 24.3%
High school diploma or GED 22.0%
Some college or associate's degree 17.8%
Bachelor's degree 19.6%
Graduate or professional degree 16.2%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 45.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher 18.2%
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2018 15.4%
% change: 1990-2000 47.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2018 169.8%
% change: 1990-2000 88.9%
Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status (foreign-born adults, age 25 and older)  
Naturalized citizens (%) 24,273,785
Less than high school diploma 17.4%
High school diploma or GED 20.6%
Some college or associate's degree 21.5%
Bachelor's degree 22.6%
Graduate or professional degree 17.9%
Noncitizens (%) 19,862,670
Less than high school diploma 32.8%
High school diploma or GED 23.7%
Some college or associate's degree 13.3%
Bachelor's degree 15.9%
Graduate or professional degree 14.3%
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 191,774,264
Less than high school diploma 6.8%
High school diploma or GED 26.6%
Some college or associate's degree 29.5%
Bachelor's degree 22.7%
Graduate or professional degree 14.4%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Nothing  
Nothing  
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2011 -50.6%
% change: 1990-2000 -19.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2011 84.4%
% change: 1990-2000 32.4%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Sources: Migration Policy Institute tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and Decennial Census. Unless stated otherwise, 2024 data are from the one-year ACS file. For information about ACS definitions, click here. For ACS methodology, sampling error, and nonsampling error, click here. Estimates from 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census data as well as ACS microdata are from Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, Jonathan Schroeder, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS USA: Version 16.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V16.0.

Definitions

  • The term "foreign born" refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent immigrants (or green-card holders), refugees and asylees, certain legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or some other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.
  • The term "U.S. born" refers to people residing in the United States who were U.S. citizens in one of three categories: people born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; people born in U.S. Insular Areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam; or people who were born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.
  • The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English “not at all,” “not well,” or “well” on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English “very well” are considered proficient in English.

Data-related notes

  • The letter N indicates that an estimate could not be provided by the Census Bureau because the number of sample cases was too small for this state.
  • “English proficiency of the foreign born by U.S. citizenship status” and “Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status”: Data for Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the Census Bureau's pooled 2020-2024 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2024 ACS. 
  • “Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency)”: Data for Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2020-2024 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2024 ACS.