The United States was founded on immigration and, over time, became a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities. This has been even more pronounced in the past few decades alone. With roots in varying parts of the world, it’s no wonder there are a multitude of languages spoken by American families all across the country. These cultures enrich America and add words to the language and are included in the 50 most popular words that entered the dictionary in the last decade. And just as the cultural mix differs from state to state, so do the most commonly spoken foreign languages.

24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year estimates to find which foreign language is most often spoken at home in each state.

Spanish may be on the verge of not being called a foreign language anymore, with 39.1 million people across the nation speaking it at home. That’s 13.1% of the country’s population. In all but four states, Spanish is the most commonly spoken foreign language aside from English. For this reason, we eliminated Spanish from the rank. Even though Spanish is more commonly spoken in the United States, income and education gaps between Hispanics and and white residents persist. These are the worst states for Hispanics and Latinos.

Click here to see the most commonly spoken foreign language in each state.

The next most commonly spoken foreign language, Chinese, is actually a group of languages and dialects. Roughly 2.1 million people in the U.S. speak some version of Chinese at home — Mandarin and Cantonese are the most popular. Vietnamese follows behind with about 1.5 million people in the U.S. speaking it. Chinese is the most commonly spoken foreign languages, aside from Spanish, in five states, and Vietnamese in nine. Among the states where Chinese is spoken frequently is Massachusetts, where Chinese account for 9.4% of the population, the largest share of foreign-born population in the state. These are the states with the largest immigrant populations.

Many people can identify their ancestry, but far fewer speak the language of their ancestors’ origin. For example, many U.S. residents have German roots, but only a tiny fraction currently speak the language at home. This would make sense as immigrants assimilate and newer generations speak English rather than their parents’ mother tongue. Vietnamese is an exception, however, with a near equivalent share of residents speaking Vietnamese as those identifying Vietnamese ancestry.

Methodology:

To determine the most commonly spoken foreign language in each state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year estimates on languages spoken most often at home. We excluded Spanish, the most commonly spoken language in nearly every state after English, from our analysis in order to identify more nuanced regional differences. Also from the ACS, we considered data on the ancestry of state residents.

1. Alabama
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 8,164
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.2%

Alabama has seen an upsurge in Vietnamese speakers since the Vietnam War ended more than 40 years ago. Immigrants from Vietnam have flocked to major cities in Alabama such as Birmingham and Huntsville to open restaurants and attend college. Others settled on the Bayou and built fishing businesses there.

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2. Alaska
> Most popular language: Aleut
> Residents who speak Aleut at home: 26,615
> Aleut-speaking population: 3.6%

More commonly known as Eskimo-Aleut languages, Alaska is the only state with this group of languages as the most commonly spoken languages, not counting English and Spanish. The Eskimo and Aleut are indigenous people native to some of the most northern parts of the globe.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Aleut has two dialects, and Eskimo consists of Yupik and Inuit, generally divided geographically. Yupik is spoken in Siberia and southwestern Alaska, and Inuit in northern Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.

3. Arizona
> Most popular language: Navajo
> Residents who speak Navajo at home: 81,231
> Navajo-speaking population: 1.2%

Arizona is one of two states where the leading foreign language, aside from Spanish, is Navajo. Those who identify as part of the Native American Navajo people are also referred to as the Diné, meaning “the People” or “children of the people.” The Navajo Nation stretches over 27,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

4. Arkansas
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 5,006
> Marshallese-speaking population: 0.8%

Arkansas is one of nine states with Vietnamese as its most commonly spoken foreign language, aside from Spanish. Like many states along the Gulf Coast, Arkansas received immigrants from Vietnam after the war ended there more than 40 years ago.

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5. California
> Most popular language: Tagalog
> Residents who speak Tagalog at home: 661,574
> Tagalog-speaking population: 1.7%

In California, 1.7% of the population speaks Tagalog, one of the languages spoken in the Philippines. The state is home to a large Filipino population.

6. Colorado
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 23,397
> German-speaking population: 0.4%

German is the most commonly spoken foreign language in 12 states. Ethnic Germans from Russia migrated to Colorado in the early 20th century to work sugar beet fields.

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7. Connecticut
> Most popular language: Portuguese
> Residents who speak Portuguese at home: 36,116
> Portuguese-speaking population: 1.0%

Portuguese is the leading foreign language in four states, including Connecticut. More than 41,500 state residents speak Portuguese, or about 1.2% of the state’s population.

8. Delaware
> Most popular language: Chinese
> Residents who speak Chinese at home: 6,136
> Chinese-speaking population: 0.7%

Delaware is one of five states where the leading foreign language is Chinese. There are pockets of Chinese speakers in the towns of Hockessin and Newark.

9. Florida
> Most popular language: Haitian
> Residents who speak Haitian at home: 413,064
> Haitian-speaking population: 2.0%

The Sunshine State is home to the largest Haitian-speaking population in the country. Of the nearly 900,000 people who speak Haitian in the U.S., just over 400,000 live in Florida. Haitian, or Haitian Creole, is one of the official languages of Haiti.

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10. Georgia
> Most popular language: Korean
> Residents who speak Korean at home: 47,855
> Korean-speaking population: 0.5%

Georgia is one of two states with Korean as the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish. Georgia may have a larger Korean population because of the state’s close ties with Korea. The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, Southeast U.S. Korean Chamber of Commerce, Korean American Chamber of Commerce, and Korean American Coalition are all located in Atlanta, Georgia.

11. Hawaii
> Most popular language: Ilocano
> Residents who speak Ilocano at home: 61,652
> Ilocano-speaking population: 4.3%

Ilocano is the third-largest language spoken in the Philippines, with an estimated 7 million people there speaking it as a first language. Only about 105,000 people in the U.S. speak the language, with more than half living in Hawaii.

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12. Idaho
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 3,767
> German-speaking population: 0.2%

Idaho is one of 12 states where German is the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish.

13. Illinois
> Most popular language: Polish
> Residents who speak Polish at home: 183,656
> Polish-speaking population: 1.4%

Illinois has both the largest number of residents who speak Polish and have Polish ancestry. There are nearly 184,000 people who speak Polish in the state, the most of any state. Chicago has an especially heavy concentration of Polish people who migrated to the city over a century ago.

14. Indiana
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 31,831
> German-speaking population: 0.5%

Indiana is one of 12 states where German is the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish. Germans have been in Indiana since the early 19th century. At 31,831, Indiana has the second-most German speakers of any state. Many of them are Amish communities that speak a German dialect.

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15. Iowa
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 11,946
> German-speaking population: 0.4%

Despite it being the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish, only 0.4% of the Midwest state’s population currently speaks the language at home.

16. Kansas
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 13,313
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.5%

Excluding Spanish, the most commonly spoken foreign language in Kansas is Vietnamese. However, only 0.5% of the population speaks Vietnamese compared with the 7.5% who speak Spanish.

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17. Kentucky
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 13,220
> German-speaking population: 0.3%

German is the most commonly spoken foreign language in the Bluegrass State, after Spanish, but only 0.3% of the population speak it. Germans are one the oldest immigrant groups to come to Louisville, the state’s largest city, arriving in there more than 200 years ago.

18. Louisiana
> Most popular language: French
> Residents who speak French at home: 76,815
> French-speaking population: 1.7%

Not surprisingly, French is the most commonly spoken foreign language in Louisiana. Does Mardi Gras ring any bells?

19. Maine
> Most popular language: French
> Residents who speak French at home: 35,525
> French-speaking population: 2.7%

Maine, which shares a border with the French-speaking part of Canada, is home to quite a few French speakers — about 2.7% of residents speak the language at home. When removing Spanish from the equation, French is the leading foreign language in six states.

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20. Maryland
> Most popular language: Chinese
> Residents who speak Chinese at home: 53,081
> Chinese-speaking population: 0.9%

Of Maryland’s 5 million residents, some 53,000 speak Chinese — not even a full 1% of the population. Still, Chinese is the leading foreign language behind Spanish — 7.5% of state residents speak Spanish at home.

21. Massachusetts
> Most popular language: Portuguese
> Residents who speak Portuguese at home: 166,874
> Portuguese-speaking population: 2.5%

It’s fitting that the largest Portuguese festival in the world is held in the state that has the most Portuguese speakers. The whaling industry in the 19th century drew Portuguese sailors to Massachusetts from the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands.

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22. Michigan
> Most popular language: Arabic
> Residents who speak Arabic at home: 139,574
> Arabic-speaking population: 1.4%

Michigan is one of two states where Arabic is the leading spoken foreign language, aside from Spanish. There are about 140.000 state residents who speak the language, or 1.4% of Michigan’s population. Michigan is home to the largest share of residents with Lebanese and Iraqi ancestry, both of which are Arabic-speaking countries.

23. Minnesota
> Most popular language: Hmong
> Residents who speak Hmong at home: 64,703
> Hmong-speaking population: 1.2%

The Hmong is an ethnic group living predominantly in China and Southeast Asia. They began coming to Minnesota in 1975 as refugees from war in Southeast Asia that destroyed their homes in Laos.

24. Mississippi
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 5,661
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.2%

Mississippi is one of nine states with Vietnamese as its most commonly spoken foreign language, aside from Spanish. Like many states along the Gulf Coast, Mississippi received immigrants from Vietnam after the war ended there more than four decades ago. Many Vietnamese immigrants opened shrimp-fishing businesses along the Gulf Coast.

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25. Missouri
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 17,158
> Chinese-speaking population: 0.3%

Missouri is one of 12 states where German is the most commonly spoken foreign language. Germans began coming to Missouri in the 1820s and migration accelerated in the 1830s and 1840s. Germans located to St. Louis, where they founded some of America’s most famous breweries, and also the Missouri River valley.

26. Montana
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 7,379
> German-speaking population: 0.7%

German speakers from Russia moved to the eastern part of Montana in the early 20th century along railroad towns like Billings and Missoula.

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27. Nebraska
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 7,846
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.4%

Of the 1.9 million people living in Nebraska, nearly 8,000 speak the language, or about 0.4% of the population.

28. Nevada
> Most popular language: Tagalog
> Residents who speak Tagalog at home: 62,676
> Tagalog-speaking population: 2.2%

California and Nevada are the only two states where the most common foreign spoken language, not including Spanish, is Tagalog. Of the 2.9 million residents in Nevada, about 63,000 speak Tagalog, one of the languages spoken in the Philippines.

29. New Hampshire
> Most popular language: French
> Residents who speak French at home: 19,439
> French-speaking population: 1.5%

French is the leading foreign language, after Spanish, in New Hampshire, although the difference is not great. Just 2.1% of state residents speak Spanish, while 1.5% speak French. New Hampshire is one of four New England states that border Quebec, Canada’s French-speaking province.

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30. New Jersey
> Most popular language: Chinese
> Residents who speak Chinese at home: 86,120
> Chinese-speaking population: 1.0%

After Spanish, the next most commonly spoken foreign language in New Jersey, the most densely populated state, is Chinese. The Chinese first came to New Jersey in 1870, settling in Belleville.

31. New Mexico
> Most popular language: Navajo
> Residents who speak Navajo at home: 63,000
> Navajo-speaking population: 3.0%

Like Arizona, the leading foreign language in New Mexico, after Spanish, is Navajo — the country’s largest Native American people. The Navajo Nation stretches over 27,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

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32. New York
> Most popular language: Chinese
> Residents who speak Chinese at home: 402,902
> Chinese-speaking population: 2.0%

New York is home to the largest Chinese-speaking population in the nation. Nearly 403,000 people in the state speak Chinese, or 2.0% of the state’s population.

33. North Carolina
> Most popular language: French
> Residents who speak French at home: 27,130
> French-speaking population: 0.3%

North Carolina is one of six states where French is the most commonly spoken language aside from English and Spanish. Towns with significant French-speaking populations include Waves and Corolla, on the Outer Banks, and Caroleen.

34. North Dakota
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 6,463
> German-speaking population: 0.9%

While just over 6,400 North Dakota residents speak German at home, about a third of people in the state have German ancestry. German is the leading foreign language after Spanish, with 0.9% of the population speaking it — about 1 percentage point less than the 1.8% who speak Spanish.

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35. Ohio
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 47,306
> German-speaking population: 0.4%

At 47,306, Ohio has the highest number of German speakers of any state. Germans migrated to Ohio from Pennsylvania to help build canals in the 19th century. Among the cities they went to was Cincinnati.

36. Oklahoma
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 18,145
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.5%

The most commonly spoken foreign language other than Spanish in Oklahoma is Vietnamese. Oklahoma City has a Vietnamese community, also known as “Little Saigon,” which is home to restaurants, supermarkets and nightlife.

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37. Oregon
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 24,724
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.6%

Oregon is home to some 25,000 Vietnamese speakers. Vietnamese is the leading foreign language after Spanish, even though only 0.6% of people living in Oregon speak it.

38. Pennsylvania
> Most popular language: Chinese
> Residents who speak Chinese at home: 67,693
> Chinese-speaking population: 0.5%

Chinese is the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish, in five states in the Northeast and East Coast. Pennsylvania is one such state, where about 68,000 people, or 0.5% of the state’s population, speak the language.

39. Rhode Island
> Most popular language: Portuguese
> Residents who speak Portuguese at home: 26,231
> Portuguese-speaking population: 2.5%

Portuguese is the leading foreign language in four states, including Rhode Island. Portuguese came to Rhode Island in the late 19th century, mainly from the Azores and Madeira, and settled in Providence, Bristol, and Pawtucket.

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40. South Carolina
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 111,764
> German-speaking population: 0.2%

Despite the small share, German is still the most commonly spoken foreign language in the state after Spanish. Germans have been in South Carolina since the late 17th century, and a vibrant community of artisans and tradesmen developed in Charleston in the 18th century.

41. South Dakota
> Most popular language: Dakota languages
> Residents who speak Dakota languages at home: 10,786
> Dakota languages-speaking population: 1.3%

The leading foreign language in South Dakota other than Spanish is Dakota. Dakota, along with Lakota, are two native American peoples that speak the Siouan languages of the Great Plains.

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42. Tennessee
> Most popular language: Arabic
> Residents who speak Arabic at home: 23,707
> Arabic-speaking population: 0.4%

Arabic is the most commonly spoken foreign language, aside from Spanish, in Tennessee, even though only 0.4% of state residents speak the language. Those who identified as having Arabic-speaking ancestry in the U.S. Census increased by more than 84% between 2000 and 2010. The largest number of new Arab immigrants came from Egypt, Iraq and Sudan.

43. Texas
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 212,857
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.8%

In Texas, the leading foreign language after Spanish is Vietnamese, even though only 0.8% of the population currently speaks it at home. A considerably larger share of state residents speak Spanish, at nearly 29.5%. This is likely because Texas is one of the bordering states with Mexico.

44. Utah
> Most popular language: Portuguese
> Residents who speak Portuguese at home: 9,134
> Portuguese-speaking population: 0.3%

Portuguese is the most commonly spoken foreign language in three East Coast states — and Utah. Utah is home to an ever-growing Brazilian population, likely due to the Mormon Church’s influence on Brazilian immigration in the early 20th century.

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45. Vermont
> Most popular language: French
> Residents who speak French at home: 8,449
> French-speaking population: 1.4%

Vermont is home to a considerable share of residents with French ancestry. Vermont also has the fifth-highest French-speaking population nationwide. Not surprising since Vermont is one of one of four New England states that border Quebec, Canada’s French-speaking province.

46. Virginia
> Most popular language: Korean
> Residents who speak Korean at home: 57,035
> Korean-speaking population: 0.7%

Of the 8.3 million people who call Virginia home, 57,000, or 0.7% of the state’s population, speak Korean. Still, Korean is the leading foreign language in Virginia after Spanish. According to Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, 60% of all Koreans in Virginia reside in Fairfax County, based on 2010 U.S. Census data.

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47. Washington
> Most popular language: Vietnamese
> Residents who speak Vietnamese at home: 62,263
> Vietnamese-speaking population: 0.9%

Unlike most foreign languages in the U.S., the share of those who speak Vietnamese at home is nearly the same as the share of those who have Vietnamese ancestry — and this is no different in Washington state.

48. West Virginia
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 2,992
> German-speaking population: 0.2%

The most commonly spoken foreign language after Spanish in West Virginia is German. That is only about 3,000 of the 1.8 million state residents speak the language. Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia, and Germans were among its first settlers.

49. Wisconsin
> Most popular language: Hmong
> Residents who speak Hmong at home: 45,204
> Hmong-speaking population: 0.8%

Hmong is the leading foreign language — behind Spanish — in two states, and Wisconsin is one of them. The other is neighboring Minnesota. The Hmong came to Wisconsin from Southeast Asia as refugees beginning in the 1970s following the Vietnam War. In Wisconsin, large Hmong communities developed in La Crosse, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Wausau, and Milwaukee.

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50. Wyoming
> Most popular language: German
> Residents who speak German at home: 2,010
> German-speaking population: 0.3%

Of the 583,029 people who inhabit sparsely populated Wyoming, only 2,010 currently speak German at home.

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