Most Commonly Spoken Foreign Language in Every State

The Korean population in Alabama has more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, the largest increase for any single race, according to the state’s Office of Minority Health. Residents who speak Korean at home are concentrated in a few counties, including Dale, Madison, and Montgomery.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Portuguese is the leading foreign language in four states, including Connecticut. More than 36,000 state residents speak Portuguese, or about 1.0% of Connecticut’s population.

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

The Sunshine State is home to the largest Haitian-speaking population in the country. Of the nearly 850,000 people who speak Haitian in the U.S., nearly 420,000 live in Florida. Haitian, or Haitian Creole, is one of the official languages of Haiti.

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.

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 101,000 people in the U.S. speak the language, with more than half living in Hawaii.

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

Illinois has both the largest number of residents who speak Polish and have Polish ancestry. There are nearly 182,000 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.

Indiana is one of nine states where German is the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish. Germans have been in Indiana since the early 19th century. At 31,012, Indiana has the second-most German speakers of any state. Many of them are Amish communities that speak a German dialect.

Despite it being the most commonly spoken foreign language, after Spanish, only 0.3% of the Midwest state’s population currently speaks the language at home.

Excluding Spanish, the most commonly spoken foreign language in Kansas is Vietnamese. However, only 0.5% of the population speaks Vietnamese compared with the 7.7% who speak Spanish.

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 of the oldest immigrant groups to come to Louisville, the state’s largest city, arriving there more than 200 years ago.

Considering the state’s history, not surprisingly, French is the most commonly spoken foreign language in Louisiana. Does Mardi Gras ring any bells?

Maine, which shares a border with the French-speaking part of Canada, is home to quite a few French speakers — about 2.6% of residents speak the language at home. When removing Spanish from the equation, French is the leading foreign language in five states.

Of Maryland’s 6 million residents, some 54,000 speak Chinese — not even a full 1% of the population. Still, Chinese is the leading foreign language behind Spanish — 8.0% of state residents speak Spanish at home.

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.

Michigan is one of four states where Arabic is the leading spoken foreign language, aside from Spanish. There are about 144,113 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.

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.

Mississippi is one of eight 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.

Until a few years ago, German was the most commonly spoken foreign language in Missouri, after Spanish. Chinese immigrants started moving in the St. Louis area in the 1860s, looking for job opportunities in mines and factories.

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

Of the 1.9 million people living in Nebraska, nearly 7,000 speak the language, or about 0.4% of the population.

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 65,000 speak Tagalog, one of the languages spoken in the Philippines.

French is the leading foreign language, after Spanish, in New Hampshire, although the difference is not very big. Just 2.2% of state residents speak Spanish, while 1.4% speak French. New Hampshire is one of four New England states that border Quebec, Canada’s French-speaking province.

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.

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.

New York is home to the largest Chinese-speaking population in the nation. Nearly 397,000 people in the state speak Chinese, or 2.0% of the state’s population.

North Carolina is one of five 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.

While just over 6,000 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 0.8% of the population speaking it — about 1 percentage point less than the 1.8% who speak Spanish.

Arabic has overtaken German as the most commonly spoken foreign language in Ohio, after Spanish. However, the difference is small — 47,234 Ohio residents speak Arabib at home, compared with 46,808 who say they speak German. Arabs started settling in Ohio in the 19th century. Most Arab immigrants in the Cleveland area come from Syria.

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.

Oregon is home to some 27,000 Vietnamese speakers. Vietnamese is the leading foreign language after Spanish, even though only 0.7% of people living in Oregon speak it.

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 67,394 people, or 0.5% of the state’s population, speak the language.

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.

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.

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.

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. Just over 38,000 people identify as having Arab ancestry in Tennessee. The largest number of new Arab immigrants came from Egypt, Iraq and Sudan.

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.

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.

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

Of the 8.4 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, based on 2010 U.S. Census data, 60% of all Koreans in Virginia reside in Fairfax County, and a quarter of them reside in Annandale and Centreville.

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.

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.

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.

Of the 581,836 people who inhabit sparsely populated Wyoming, only 2,114 currently speak German at home.