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One of the components of a racially and ethnically diverse
population is the plurality of languages spoken at home. Shifts
in immigration and secondary migration in concert with birth
rates that vary by culture continually challenge King County
service providers and educators.
Languages Spoken at Home
Data is compiled using: 2008 American Community Survey
1-Year Estimates
Read about how language data is collected
Ages 5 - 17
For the 286,110 population of King County age 5 to 17 years, the
following rates stand out:
|
Language at Home, Ages 5-17 |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
| |
|
|
|
5 to 17 years: |
286,110 |
***** |
|
Speak only English |
212,580 |
+/-4,248 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
26,229 |
+/-1,939 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
19,281 |
+/-2,075 |
|
Speak English "well" |
4,703 |
+/-1,421 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
2,119 |
+/-768 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
126 |
+/-217 |
|
Speak other Indo-European
languages: |
13,638 |
+/-2,545 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
10,352 |
+/-2,256 |
|
Speak English "well" |
2,442 |
+/-942 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
646 |
+/-365 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
198 |
+/-240 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island
languages: |
25,084 |
+/-2,647 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
17,877 |
+/-2,634 |
|
Speak English "well" |
4,531 |
+/-1,094 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
1,956 |
+/-708 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
720 |
+/-782 |
|
Speak other languages: |
8,579 |
+/-2,733 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
5,650 |
+/-1,982 |
|
Speak English "well" |
2,544 |
+/-1,601 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
243 |
+/-274 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
142 |
+/-217 |
Download Data | Source:
2008 American Community Survey
1-Year Estimates
English Only
• 74.3% or approximately 212,580
Spanish
• Biggest non English speaking population, comprises 9.2% of the population
• 91.4% of the population speaks English "very well", or
"well"
• 8.6% speak English “not well or “Not at all”
Indo-European
• Represented 4.8% of the population
• 93.8% of
speakers who reported an English speaking capacity of “very
well” or “well”
• 6.2% speaking English “not well or “Not at all.”
Asian and Pacific Island
• Represent 8.8% of the population
• 89.3% speak English “very well” or “well”
• 10.7% speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
Other Languages
• This population represented 2.9% of the total age 5-17
category
• 95.5% of people who speak English “very well” or “well”
• 4.5% who speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
• This language group has the largest margin of error.
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Ages 18 - 64
For the King County population age 18 to 64 years, there were 1,267,922
(+/- 449) persons. The following English speaking capacity was
reported:
|
Language at Home, Ages 18-64 |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
|
|
|
|
18 to 64 years: |
1,267,922 |
+/-449 |
|
Speak only English |
972,419 |
+/-8,801 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
73,539 |
+/-3,881 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
31,978 |
+/-3,781 |
|
Speak English "well" |
15,555 |
+/-2,368 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
18,723 |
+/-2,368 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
7,283 |
+/-2,135 |
|
Speak other Indo-European
languages: |
75,759 |
+/-6,110 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
46,698 |
+/-4,049 |
|
Speak English "well" |
17,638 |
+/-2,638 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
8,490 |
+/-1,919 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
2,933 |
+/-1,115 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island
languages: |
124,250 |
+/-4,864 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
60,338 |
+/-3,625 |
|
Speak English "well" |
37,322 |
+/-2,723 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
22,569 |
+/-2,490 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
4,021 |
+/-1,535 |
|
Speak other languages: |
21,955 |
+/-3,647 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
12,397 |
+/-2,359 |
|
Speak English "well" |
5,805 |
+/-1,674 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
3,396 |
+/-1,229 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
357 |
+/-341 |
Download Data | Source:
2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
English Only
• 76.7% of the population
• This represents 972, 419 persons in this age group
Spanish
• 5.8% of the population
• By a significant margin this group reported the lowest
percentage of people who speak English “very well” or
“well,” 64.6%
• The remaining 35.4% reported speaking English “not well or
“Not at all.”
Indo-European
• Represented 5.9% of the population
• 84.9% reported speaking English “very well” or “well ”
• 15.1% speaking English “not well or “Not at all.”
Asian and Pacific Island
• This category again made up the biggest non English
speaking population at 9.8% of the population
• 78.6% speaking English “very well” or “well”
• 21.4% speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Other Languages
• The population speaking “other languages” represented
1.7% of King County
• This group reported the highest percentage of speakers who
reported an English speaking capacity of “very well” or
“well” at 82.9%
• 17.1% speak English “not well or “Not at all.”
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Ages 65+
Age 65 years and over is the third King County age demographic called
out. This group was made up of 203,042 persons (+/- 449).
|
Language at Home, 65 Years and over |
Estimate |
Margin of Error |
|
|
|
|
|
65 years and over: |
203,042 |
+/-449 |
|
Speak only English |
165,754 |
+/-2,356 |
|
Speak Spanish: |
3,696 |
+/-889 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
2,027 |
+/-705 |
|
Speak English "well" |
437 |
+/-283 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
245 |
+/-236 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
987 |
+/-595 |
|
Speak other Indo-European languages: |
14,016 |
+/-2,034 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
7,495 |
+/-1,530 |
|
Speak English "well" |
2,433 |
+/-692 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
2,229 |
+/-1,352 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
1,859 |
+/-802 |
|
Speak Asian and Pacific Island languages: |
18,028 |
+/-1,467 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
3,548 |
+/-879 |
|
Speak English "well" |
3,209 |
+/-872 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
7,104 |
+/-1,234 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
4,167 |
+/-1,030 |
|
Speak other languages: |
1,548 |
+/-661 |
|
Speak English "very well" |
600 |
+/-393 |
|
Speak English "well" |
267 |
+/-242 |
|
Speak English "not well" |
481 |
+/-374 |
|
Speak English "not at all" |
200 |
+/-177 |
Download Data | Source:
2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
English Only
• 81.6% of this population speaks
English only
• There are an estimated 165,754 individuals
Spanish
• This population comprises 1.8% of the
demographic
• Spanish speaking population in this age demographic has
the highest reporting rate of people who speak English “very
well” or “well,” 66.7%
• 33.3% reporting speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Indo-European
• This population represented
6.9% of
the population
• 70.8% reporting the ability to speak
English “very well” or “well ”
• The remaining 29.2% speaking English “not well or “Not at
all”
Asian and Pacific Island
• Again, the biggest non English
speaking population comprised of 8.9% of the population
• This demographic reported 37.7% speaking English “very
well” or “well”
• 62.3% speaking English “not well or “Not at all”
Other Languages
• This population represented 0.8% of
King County
• It is reported that 56.0% of this population of speakers
reported an English speaking capacity of “very well” or
“well”
• 44.0% speak English “not well or “Not at all”
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Linguistic Isolation
Limitations in the ability to communicate
in English can severely hamper opportunities to seek and receive
services. More debilitating yet is when an entire household has
limited English speaking capacity, a category the US Census
refers to as “linguistic isolation.”
Read More about Linguistic
Isolation
|
2008 Language Groups with Linguistic Isolation
Detail |
|
Language
|
Linguistically Isolated |
Overall Percent of Language group |
|
Spanish |
12,647 |
29.5% |
|
Other
Indo-European |
9,513 |
18.5% |
|
Asian and Pacific Island |
20,762 |
28.9% |
|
Other languages |
2,250 |
18.1% |
|
TOTAL |
45,172 |
|
Download Data | Source: 2008 American
Community Survey
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Languages Used at School
Data is compiled using: Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI). Data is pulled from the 2008-2009
academic year.
The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI) English Language Learner (ELL) program
tracks participant numbers rather than all students with a
primary language other than English. This may under-represent
some of the rich variety of languages in the region. Statewide,
97,021 Washington State students (9.4%) are enrolled in ELL
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Regional Distinctions
- North King County school districts have 1,697 ELL participants.
|
North King County: Top 10 Limited
English Language Learners Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
779 |
|
Korean |
145 |
|
Vietnamese |
91 |
|
Russian |
64 |
|
Tagalog |
46 |
|
Chinese-Unspecified |
43 |
|
Chinese-Cantonese |
40 |
|
Arabic |
39 |
|
Chinese-Mandarin |
36 |
|
Amharic |
25 |
Download Data
| Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- East King County school districts have 4,185 ELL
participants.
|
East King County: Top 10 Limited
English Language Learners Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
1,505 |
|
Korean |
366 |
|
Japanese |
209 |
|
Russian |
191 |
|
Vietnamese |
188 |
|
Chinese-Mandarin |
181 |
|
Chinese-Unspecified |
110 |
|
Chinese-Cantonese |
96 |
|
Telugu |
93 |
|
Arabic |
89 |
Download Data
| Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- South King County school districts have 16,899 ELL participants.
|
South King County: Top 10 Limited
English Language Learners Spoken in School
Districts |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
8,560 |
|
Somali |
1,054 |
|
Vietnamese |
968 |
|
Ukrainian |
832 |
|
Russian |
734 |
|
Punjabi |
501 |
|
Tagalog |
325 |
|
Samoan |
316 |
|
Korean |
308 |
|
French |
282 |
Download Data
|
Source: Washington State Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (OSPI)
- Seattle school district reports 5,793 ELL participants.
|
Seattle: Top 10 Limited English Proficiency
Languages Spoken in School District |
|
Language |
Count |
|
Spanish |
1,804 |
|
Somali |
958 |
|
Vietnamese |
813 |
|
Chinese-Cantonese |
384 |
|
Tagalog |
278 |
|
Amharic |
162 |
|
Oromo |
145 |
|
Toishanese |
134 |
|
Cambodian |
125 |
|
Tigrinya |
101 |
Download Data
| Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
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Number of ELL Students by
Subregion
Forty-six districts in the State were distinguished for
having more than 20 languages represented in ELL programs.
Included on this list are 14 King County public school districts
http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/pubdocs/2008-09TBIPLegReport_16DEC09.pdf
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OSPI: English
Language
Learners Students:
Distinguishing Spanish and Other Languages |
|
|
Spanish |
Percent Spanish |
Other Languages |
Percent Other Languages |
Total |
|
North King County |
779 |
45.9% |
918 |
54.1% |
1,697 |
|
East King County |
1,505 |
36.0% |
2,680 |
64.0% |
4,185 |
|
South King County |
8,560 |
50.8% |
8,289 |
49.2% |
16,849 |
|
Seattle |
1,804 |
31.1% |
3,989 |
68.9% |
5,793 |
|
TOTAL LEP |
12,648 |
44.3% |
15,876 |
55.7% |
28,524 |
Download Data | Source: Washington State Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)2008-2009 Report
Number of Non-English Languages Represented
in ELL programs by school district
North Region
Northshore – 59 languages 1,034 students
Shoreline – 51 languages 663
students
East Region
Bellevue – 75
languages 1,842 students
Lake Washington – 71
languages 1,407 students
Issaquah – 53 languages
678 students
Mercer Island– 16
languages 83 students
Snoqualmie Valley
– 22 languages 102 students
Riverview – 7
languages 73 students
Skykomish - NA
South Region
Kent – 101 languages
4,399 students
Federal Way – 80 languages 2,930 students
Highline – 83
languages 3,891 students
Renton – 72 languages 2,337 students
Tukwila – 55
languages 1,146 students
Auburn – 38 languages 1,795 students
Tahoma – 31 languages
179 students
Vashon Island – 4 languages 22 students
Enumclaw – 3
languages 150 students
Seattle Region
Seattle – 83 languages 5,793 students
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Large Quantity Of English Language
Learner Participation
The 2008-2009 OSPI update indicates that 19 Washington School
districts have over 1,000 ELL student participants. Ten of these
districts are located in King County:
North Region
Northshore - 1,034
East Region
Bellevue – 1,842
Lake Washington – 1,407
South Region
Kent – 4,399
Highline – 3,891
Federal Way –2.930
Renton – 2,337
Auburn – 1,795
Tukwila – 1,146
Seattle Region
Seattle – 5,793
Updated June 2010
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