Did you know America is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world? With over 350 languages spoken , 78.4% of Americans speak only English at home, while 21.6% use other languages.
Over 8% of the US population have limited English proficiency (LEP ). Unfortunately, many industries often overlook this group of over 25 million people.
US Census LEP Data from Migration Policy Institute To bridge the gap, civil rights laws are pushing for better language access . Businesses and agencies that receive federal funding must now provide interpreters and translated materials to help people with limited English. Hospitals, for example, must translate vital documents into the 15 most common languages in their service areas.
As America's demographics shift, adapting to changing language needs is more important than ever. In this blog, we’ll explore the most common non-English languages in each US state.
Top Non-English Languages by State Here are the top 15 languages spoken by Limited English Proficiency (LEP) populations in each U.S. state, along with the number of speakers.*
Alabama Spanish or Spanish Creole – 75,000 Korean – 4,554 Chinese – 5,405 Vietnamese – 3,708 Arabic – 1,440 German – 1,411 French – 1,278 Gujarati – 888 Tagalog – 856 Hindi – 818 Laotian – 681 Russian – 586 Portuguese – 516 Turkish – 505 Japanese – 484 Alaska Tagalog – 7,021 Spanish – 5,975 Korean – 2,219 Hmong – 1,944 Russian – 1,392 Samoan – 870 Chinese – 1,008 Laotian – 743 Japanese – 737 Ilocano – 535 Vietnamese – 516 Ukrainian – 505 Thai – 474 German – 247 Polish – 223 Arizona Spanish – 457,022 Navajo – 20,627 Chinese – 14,028 Vietnamese – 12,996 Arabic – 7,166 Tagalog – 6,109 Korean – 4,759 French – 2,978 German – 2,896 Russian – 2,353 Japanese – 2,308 Persian – 2,262 Syriac – 2,110 Serbo-Croatian – 2,000 Thai – 1,779 Arkansas Spanish – 68,847 Vietnamese – 3,088 Marshallese – 2,615 Chinese – 2,358 Laotian – 1,701 Tagalog – 1,074 Arabic – 986 German – 799 French – 670 Hmong – 574 Korean – 550 Portuguese – 442 Japanese – 432 Hindi – 376 Gujarati – 324 California Spanish – 4,490,408 Chinese – 610,934 Vietnamese – 316,886 Tagalog – 260,443 Korean – 218,938 Armenian – 94,516 Persian – 74,437 Russian – 73,133 Japanese – 63,441 Arabic – 62,500 Panjabi – 53,335 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 41,476 Hmong – 34,953 Hindi – 31,256 Thai – 27,573 Colorado Spanish – 226,453 Vietnamese – 12,078 Chinese – 10,489 Korean – 8,475 Russian – 6,405 Amharic – 4,200 Arabic – 4,093 German – 2,856 French – 2,528 Nepali – 2,095 Tagalog – 2,055 Japanese – 1,635 Cushite – 1,610 Persian – 1,280 Kru, Ibo, Yoruba – 1,220 Connecticut Spanish – 156,861 Portuguese – 16,008 Polish – 15,109 Chinese – 13,409 Italian – 10,037 French – 7,501 French Creole – 5,567 Russian – 4,916 Vietnamese – 4,681 Arabic – 3,805 Korean – 3,535 Albanian – 3,295 Hindi – 2,930 Tagalog – 2,639 Greek – 2,242 Delaware Spanish – 25,069 Chinese – 3,265 French Creole – 1,281 Gujarati – 1,104 French – 729 Korean – 709 Italian – 614 Vietnamese – 532 German – 491 Tagalog – 418 Hindi – 406 Urdu – 362 Arabic – 348 Telugu – 315 Dutch – 290 District of Columbia Spanish – 17,465 Amharic – 2,475 Chinese – 2,070 French – 1,824 Tagalog – 627 Russian – 552 Portuguese – 475 Italian – 432 Vietnamese – 389 Kru, Ibo, Yoruba – 360 Bengali – 305 Japanese – 281 Korean – 240 Thai – 230 German – 217 Florida Spanish – 1,640,329 French Creole – 172,555 Vietnamese – 35,602 Portuguese – 33,193 Chinese – 33,151 French – 29,811 Tagalog – 17,755 Russian – 16,572 Arabic – 15,490 Italian – 13,210 German – 11,442 Korean – 9,686 Polish – 9,020 Gujarati – 5,850 Thai – 5,259 Georgia Spanish – 342,161 Vietnamese – 26,867 Korean – 25,239 Chinese – 23,196 Gujarati – 6,945 French – 6,923 Amharic – 5,585 Hindi – 5,381 French Creole – 5,169 Russian – 5,146 Arabic – 4,485 Portuguese – 3,623 Persian – 3,618 German – 3,394 Japanese – 3,114 Hawaii Ilocano – 33,085 Tagalog – 31,449 Japanese – 21,288 Chinese – 19,649 Korean – 11,595 Spanish – 6,974 Vietnamese – 6,349 Samoan – 4,400 Marshallese – 3,840 Trukese – 3,410 Hawaiian – 3,010 Micronesian – 2,210 Bisayan – 1,640 Tongan – 1,515 Laotian – 1,362 Idaho Spanish – 47,041 Chinese – 1,798 Serbo-Croatian – 815 Korean – 767 Vietnamese – 630 Arabic – 628 German – 588 Tagalog – 562 Russian – 481 French – 449 Japanese – 395 Romanian – 315 Sudan – 305 Persian – 296 Ukrainian – 245 Illinois Spanish – 694,457 Polish – 90,066 Chinese – 52,736 Korean – 25,762 Tagalog – 23,742 Arabic – 19,749 Russian – 19,419 Gujarati – 17,728 Urdu – 12,001 Vietnamese – 11,973 Italian – 10,319 Hindi – 9,862 French – 8,435 Greek – 8,392 German – 7,481 Indiana Spanish – 121,383 Chinese – 14,737 German – 7,565 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 4,600 Burmese – 4,320 Arabic – 3,783 Korean – 3,729 Vietnamese – 3,434 French – 2,835 Japanese – 2,679 Dutch – 2,595 Tagalog – 1,887 Russian – 1,759 Panjabi – 1,755 Hindi – 1,712 Iowa Spanish – 49,357 Chinese – 6,025 Vietnamese – 4,552 Serbo-Croatian – 3,795 German – 2,624 Arabic – 2,213 Laotian – 1,997 Korean – 1,950 Hindi – 1,078 French – 937 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 875 Thai – 872 Tagalog – 789 Karen – 780Russian – 614 Kansas Spanish – 83,374 Vietnamese – 7,435 Chinese – 5,876 German – 2,202 Korean – 2,022 Laotian – 1,998 Arabic – 1,647 Tagalog – 1,223 Burmese – 830 French – 786 Japanese – 777 Russian – 748 Hmong – 590 Persian – 549 Swahili – 525 Kentucky Spanish – 48,275 Chinese – 4,565 German – 3,138 Vietnamese – 3,076 Arabic – 3,004 Serbo-Croatian – 2,545 Japanese – 2,320 French – 1,914 Korean – 1,739 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 1,255 Nepali – 1,185 Cushite – 1,060 Russian – 875 Tagalog – 589 Bantu – 580 Louisiana Spanish – 69,262 French – 17,467 Vietnamese – 15,024 Chinese – 5,462 Arabic – 2,460 Tagalog – 1,567 Korean – 1,271 Portuguese – 1,048 Laotian – 836 Japanese – 719 Urdu – 604 German – 562 Persian – 475 Russian – 470 Thai – 411 Maine French – 8,381 Spanish – 2,583 Chinese – 1,490 Cushite – 1,285 Vietnamese – 1,191 Arabic – 880 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 567 Russian – 489 Tagalog – 486 German – 385 Thai – 307 Nilotic – 290 Korean – 221 Polish – 200 Japanese – 162 Maryland Spanish – 174,142 Chinese – 29,766 Korean – 21,344 Vietnamese – 12,905 French – 12,695 Tagalog – 10,644 Russian – 8,713 Amharic – 7,435 Kru, Ibo, Yoruba – 5,605 Urdu – 5,456 Persian – 4,756 French Creole – 3,854 Portuguese – 3,496 Arabic – 3,363 Gujarati – 3,270 Massachusetts Spanish – 219,004 Portuguese – 81,920 Chinese – 59,573 French Creole – 30,607 Vietnamese – 24,785 Russian – 15,633 Arabic – 13,726 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 12,262 French – 11,221 Italian – 10,022 Korean – 7,725 Greek – 6,453 Polish – 6,240 Hindi – 3,552 Gujarati – 3,543 Michigan Spanish – 93,487 Arabic – 50,019 Chinese – 20,265 Syriac – 11,725 Vietnamese – 9,173 Albanian – 8,895 Korean – 8,479 Bengali – 7,110 Polish – 6,508 German – 6,385 Italian – 5,720 Japanese – 5,543 Russian – 5,107 Serbo-Croatian – 4,470 Tagalog – 4,453 Minnesota Spanish – 83,799 Hmong – 24,584 Cushite – 18,500 Vietnamese – 13,241 Chinese – 9,922 Russian – 6,463 Laotian – 5,053 Amharic – 4,395 Karen – 4,045German – 4,032 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 3,691 Arabic – 3,251 French – 3,187 Korean – 2,146 Tagalog – 1,800 Mississippi Spanish – 28,414 Vietnamese – 3,687 Chinese – 2,298 French – 969 Arabic – 908 Choctaw – 800 Tagalog – 699 German – 696 Korean – 662 Gujarati – 419 Japanese – 273 Russian – 224 Panjabi – 190 Italian – 186 Hindi – 148 Missouri Spanish – 54,023 Chinese – 10,426 Vietnamese – 7,399 Serbo-Croatian – 6,045 German – 5,476 Arabic – 4,383 Korean – 4,183 Russian – 3,831 French – 2,596 Tagalog – 2,067 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 1,685 Persian – 1,094 Cushite – 1,000 Portuguese – 938 Amharic – 915 Montana Spanish – 3,129 German – 1,030 Chinese – 709 Japanese – 433 Tagalog – 312 French – 306 Russian – 266 Korean – 256 Arabic – 171 Thai – 132 Norwegian – 115 Vietnamese – 106 Ukrainian – 95 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 80 Italian – 56 Nebraska Spanish – 57,612 Vietnamese – 4,973 Chinese – 2,504 Arabic – 2,161 Karen – 1,465French – 1,244 Cushite – 1,110 German – 759 Korean – 728 Nepali – 715 Russian – 651 Laotian – 474 Kurdish – 410 Persian – 392 Japanese – 388 Nevada Spanish – 229,155 Tagalog – 21,723 Chinese – 16,103 Korean – 6,342 Vietnamese – 5,068 Amharic – 3,915 Thai – 3,348 Japanese – 2,445 Arabic – 1,945 Russian – 1,757 French – 1,734 Persian – 1,344 Samoan – 1,315 German – 1,156 Ilocano – 795 New Hampshire Spanish – 9,708 French – 4,372 Chinese – 2,621 Nepali – 1,550 Vietnamese – 1,338 Portuguese – 998 Greek – 713 Arabic – 664 Serbo-Croatian – 655 Indonesian – 565 Korean – 534 Russian – 500 French Creole – 353 Bantu – 345 Polish – 344 New Jersey Spanish – 598,155 Chinese – 52,343 Korean – 41,424 Portuguese – 36,578 Gujarati – 29,495 Polish – 29,060 Italian – 23,336 Arabic – 22,488 Tagalog – 21,205 Russian – 18,816 French Creole – 18,642 Hindi – 14,913 Vietnamese – 12,659 French – 9,881 Urdu – 8,280 New Mexico Spanish – 152,981 Navajo – 10,292 Vietnamese – 2,727 German – 1,488 Chinese – 2,205 Arabic – 766 Korean – 717 Tagalog – 697 Japanese – 563 French – 548 Italian – 390 Russian – 319 Hindi – 275 Persian – 271 Thai – 238 New York Spanish – 1,240,490 Chinese – 350,976 Russian – 130,296 French Creole – 68,509 Korean – 61,833 Italian – 58,200 Yiddish – 53,052 Bengali – 48,980 Polish – 40,883 Arabic – 36,053 French – 32,900 Urdu – 29,109 Tagalog – 22,095 Greek – 19,521 Albanian – 17,010 North Carolina Spanish – 329,155 Chinese – 14,502 Vietnamese – 14,257 Korean – 7,473 French – 6,338 Arabic – 5,494 Hmong – 3,804 Russian – 3,420 Tagalog – 3,339 Gujarati – 3,338 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 2,607 German – 2,578 Hindi – 2,428 Laotian – 2,346 Japanese – 2,335 North Dakota Spanish – 1,984 German – 1,452 Chinese – 807 Cushite – 685 Vietnamese – 497 Bantu – 410 Arabic – 331 Swahili – 245 Russian – 243 Japanese – 210 Nepali – 190 French – 184 Korean – 181 Tagalog – 173 Norwegian – 170 Ohio Spanish – 88,196 Chinese – 20,651 German – 13,583 Arabic – 12,864 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 10,900 Russian – 8,141 French – 6,525 Vietnamese – 6,438 Cushite – 5,820 Korean – 5,516 Italian – 4,766 Japanese – 4,709 Dutch – 4,255 Ukrainian – 3,735 Romanian – 3,055 Oklahoma Spanish – 104,866 Vietnamese – 9,131 Chinese – 4,498 Korean – 2,267 German – 1,477 Arabic – 1,403 Burmese – 1,110 Hmong – 1,084 Tagalog – 1,003 French – 906 Laotian – 881 Thai – 739 Urdu – 698 Cherokee – 695 Persian – 694 Oregon Spanish – 140,093 Vietnamese – 15,643 Chinese – 13,886 Russian – 9,547 Korean – 5,322 Ukrainian – 3,065 Japanese – 3,036 Arabic – 2,610 Romanian – 2,350 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 1,666 Cushite – 1,580 German – 1,459 Persian – 1,342 French – 1,241 Thai – 1,208 Pennsylvania Spanish – 215,529 Chinese – 43,089 Vietnamese – 23,912 Russian – 17,418 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 16,510 Korean – 14,783 Italian – 12,079 Arabic – 11,150 French – 9,751 German – 9,444 Gujarati – 7,231 Polish – 7,030 French Creole – 6,849 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 6,820 Portuguese – 5,087 Rhode Island Spanish – 48,872 Portuguese – 12,291 Chinese – 3,616 French Creole – 2,610 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 2,397 French – 1,922 Italian – 1,739 Laotian – 1,387 Arabic – 1,259 Russian – 930 Vietnamese – 808 Kru, Ibo, Yoruba – 795 Polish – 766 Korean – 652 Tagalog – 620 South Carolina Spanish – 91,878 Chinese – 5,355 Vietnamese – 3,766 Korean – 2,446 French – 2,187 Tagalog – 2,108 Russian – 1,945 German – 1,712 Gujarati – 1,575 Arabic – 1,531 Portuguese – 1,248 Japanese – 1,134 Ukrainian – 940 Hindi – 647 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 596 South Dakota Spanish – 6,600 German – 972 Chinese – 820 Karen – 750Vietnamese – 455 Nepali – 370 Serbo-Croatian – 325 Amharic – 315 Sudanic – 315 Tagalog – 277 Korean – 252 Russian – 250 Cushite – 240 Ukrainian – 235 French – 205 Tennessee Spanish – 111,267 Arabic – 7,880 Chinese – 6,462 Vietnamese – 6,361 Korean – 3,969 French – 2,544 Laotian – 2,418 Amharic – 1,995 German – 1,895 Gujarati – 1,825 Japanese – 1,814 Tagalog – 1,635 Hindi – 1,346 Russian – 1,319 Persian – 1,224 Texas Spanish – 2,966,475 Vietnamese – 115,640 Chinese – 71,139 Korean – 30,852 Arabic – 22,002 Urdu – 18,041 Tagalog – 17,982 French – 12,673 Hindi – 12,656 Persian – 11,610 German – 10,664 Gujarati – 9,864 Russian – 7,004 Japanese – 6,620 Laotian – 5,709 Utah Spanish – 99,208 Chinese – 5,825 Vietnamese – 4,190 Korean – 1,835 Navajo – 1,450 Nepali – 1,405 Tongan – 1,330 Serbo-Croatian – 1,330 Tagalog – 1,319 German – 1,289 Russian – 1,287 Arabic – 1,225 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 1,152 French – 1,132 Japanese – 1,127 Vermont French – 1,583 Spanish – 1,501 Chinese – 777 Vietnamese – 672 Nepali – 570 Serbo-Croatian – 455 German – 309 Cushite – 275 Italian – 146 Arabic – 144 Russian – 141 Tagalog – 136 Portuguese – 128 Japanese – 117 Thai – 115 Virginia Spanish – 217,843 Korean – 30,193 Vietnamese – 25,813 Chinese – 23,706 Arabic – 13,844 Tagalog – 12,976 Persian – 9,316 Amharic – 8,550 Urdu – 8,094 French – 6,755 Russian – 5,332 Hindi – 4,552 German – 4,056 Bengali – 4,000 Kru, Ibo, Yoruba – 3,805 Washington Spanish – 232,748 Chinese – 42,812 Vietnamese – 38,432 Korean – 27,088 Russian – 25,421 Tagalog – 19,128 Ukrainian – 12,555 Mon-Khmer, Cambodian – 9,046 Japanese – 9,016 Amharic – 7,590 Cushite – 6,965 Arabic – 6,417 Panjabi – 6,145 German – 3,863 Laotian – 3,712 West Virginia Spanish – 6,677 Chinese – 1,534 French – 711 German – 668 Arabic – 654 Vietnamese – 592 Korean – 369 Japanese – 346 Tagalog – 336 Italian – 193 Thai – 185 Nepali – 165 Persian – 149 Russian – 94 Urdu – 85 Wisconsin Spanish – 103,190 Hmong – 17,202 Chinese – 8,142 German – 6,583 Arabic – 2,816 Russian – 2,482 Korean – 2,398 Vietnamese – 2,151 Pennsylvanian Dutch – 1,970 Laotian – 1,767 French – 1,678 Polish – 1,666 Hindi – 1,472 Albanian – 1,460 Tagalog – 1,336 Wyoming Spanish – 7,924 Chinese – 525 German – 233 Tagalog – 229 French – 134 Korean – 126 Vietnamese – 98 Italian – 71 Russian – 63 Indonesian – 55 Japanese – 55 Nepali – 55 Persian – 52 Gujarati – 40 Navajo – 39 *About the state language data The language data in this article is sourced from cms.gov, an official government website.
For additional insight on state and local languages, we recommend these resources:
If you have any questions about federal language access laws for your industry, contact the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) or your state government.
Looking ahead Image Source: Department of Justice Embracing the linguistic diversity of the United States is essential for businesses, healthcare providers, and agencies. Offering multilingual services not only bridges communication gaps but also builds trust and fosters inclusivity within diverse communities. For digital marketers, understanding the most spoken languages in each region enables more targeted and impactful messaging.
Translation isn't just a "nice-to-have" anymore—it's a necessity. By translating your website and digital content, you expand your reach, enhance user experience, and increase engagement with non-English-speaking audiences both in the U.S. and worldwide. For industries like healthcare , SaaS , and ecommerce , this means building stronger customer relationships, and staying ahead of competitors, and complying with federal language access laws.
Now is the perfect time to future-proof your business by embracing translation. Whether you're a healthcare provider or a tech startup, Localize can help you translate websites and apps across industries, allowing you to serve all communities effectively and inclusively.
