Most people in the United States speak English and most governmental functions are in English. The bureau collects data on language use to know what languages to use, and where, to get information to people about public health, voting, and safety.
News
Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2018
The U.S. Census Bureau today released a report that examines trends in computer and internet use in 2018.
Chinese New Year: February 12, 2021
According to the World Population Clock, the mid-2020 population of China was 1.4B vs. 7.7B for the world, or about 18.2%. Children per woman was 1.6 vs. 2.4.
Super Bowl LV (55): February 7, 2021
The game involves two top-50 U.S. metro areas by estimated population: #18 Tampa (3,194,831) vs. #31 Kansas City (2,157,990) playing in Tampa.
Publications
English-Speaking Ability of the Foreign-Born Population: 2012
This report examines English use at home and English-speaking ability among the foreign born.
School Enrollment in the United States: 2011
The publication School Enrollment in the United States: 2011 is CPS and ACS.
Native North American Languages Spoken at Home: 2006-2010
Data on the frequency and percentage of the U.S. population aged 5 and over who spoke a Native North American language at home.
Data
Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
The ACS 2009-2013 multi-year data are used to list all languages spoken in the United States that were reported during the sample period.
Detailed Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English
The ACS 2006-2008 multi-year data are used to list all languages spoken in the United States that were reported during the sample period.
A Demographic Profile of Foreign-Language Speakers: 2000
These foreign born tables are from the 2000 A Demographic Profile of Foreign-Language Speakers.
Working Papers
Which American Languages are Dying?
This paper uses ACS data to quantify the vulnerability of endangered indigenous American languages.
Household and Community Characteristics and Children's Acculturation
The American Community Survey is used to explore the associations of household and community characteristics with children’s linguistic acculturation.
ACS Redesign of Language-Spoken-at-Home Data, 2016
This report describes the processes, decision points, and challenges involved in the 2016 ACS language data redesign.