Languages spoken in Massachusetts

In October 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau released the "2009-2013 American Community Survey" which provides information on "languages spoken at home" and "ability to speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over" for the United States as a whole, states including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., selected counties, and selected cities and urban areas. The following provides aggregated survey information on languages spoken in Massachusetts

Table showing languages spoken in Massachusetts

Population 5 years and over
Speak only English at home
Speak a language other than English at home
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

French (incl. Patois, Cajun)

French Creole

Italian

Portuguese (incl. Portuguese Creole)

German (incl. Luxembourgian)

Yiddish

Other West Germanic languages

Scandinavian languages

Greek

Russian

Polish

Serbo-Croatian languages

Other Slavic languages

Other Indic languages

Other Indo-European languages

ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES

Chinese (incl. Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages)

Other Asian languages

Tagalog

Other Pacific Island languages

ALL OTHER LANGUAGES

Navajo

Other Native North American languages

Other and unspecified languages

BY STATE
BY COUNTY
BY CITY

Language	Number of speakers	Margin of Error	Speak English less than "Very Well"	Margin of Error
Population 5 years and over	6,238,762	273	553,602	5,266
Speak only English at home	4,871,680	7,523	(X)	(X)
Speak a language other than English at home	1,367,082	7,457	553,602	5,266
SPANISH AND SPANISH CREOLE	502,625	3,612	215,660	3,319
Spanish	502,615	3,610	215,650	3,317
Pachuco	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
OTHER INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES	552,815	6,336	197,598	4,096
French (incl Patois, Cajun)	62,941	2,147	12,076	1,052
French	60,905	2,149	11,780	1,048
Patois	2,005	590	295	133
Cajun	30	27	(B)	-
French Creole	64,549	2,967	28,704	1,841
Italian	38,919	1,599	10,295	795
Portuguese (incl Portuguese Creole)	181,917	4,738	84,755	2,951
Portuguese	181,810	4,721	84,725	2,948
Papia Mentae	110	85	(D)	(D)
German (incl Luxembourgian)	17,515	1,127	1,842	292
German	17,515	1,127	1,840	292
Yiddish	785	161	69	49
Other West Germanic languages	3,737	577	329	187
Dutch	3,365	558	295	182
Afrikaans	375	136	35	38
Scandinavian languages	4,027	571	234	78
Swedish	2,185	390	95	50
Danish	800	216	60	52
Norwegian	825	205	55	35
Icelandic	215	111	(D)	(D)
Greek	23,991	1,615	6,752	749
Russian	36,549	1,939	16,341	1,181
Polish	19,235	1,226	6,255	834
Serbo-Croatian languages	4,806	1,011	1,454	391
Serbocroatian	3,170	920	1,180	381
Croatian	770	307	145	107
Serbian	870	232	130	91
Other Slavic languages	6,969	902	2,146	447
Bielorussian	100	111	(B)	-
Ukrainian	3,000	581	1,320	324
Czech	1,000	370	175	154
Slovak	235	105	(D)	(D)
Bulgarian	2,300	471	545	200
Macedonian	290	171	65	54
Slovene	45	36	(D)	(D)
Armenian	8,104	1,138	1,957	430
Persian	6,453	1,035	2,281	581
Hindi	18,845	1,461	3,370	606
Gujarati	8,926	1,047	3,165	588
Urdu	6,303	1,009	1,618	412
Other Indic languages	18,901	1,611	6,978	1,033
India nec3	1,415	477	690	354
Bengali	4,995	697	1,685	391
Panjabi	2,980	624	1,375	506
Marathi	3,020	590	640	344
Bihari	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Rajasthani	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Oriya	85	76	(D)	(D)
Assamese	80	75	(D)	(D)
Kashmiri	40	40	(D)	(D)
Nepali	5,415	1,033	2,375	558
Sindhi	125	91	(D)	(D)
Pakistan nec3	185	162	70	80
Sinhalese	500	198	75	56
Romany	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Other Indo-European languages	19,343	1,463	6,977	847
Jamaican Creole	875	292	190	129
Krio	95	75	30	24
Pidgin	40	64	(D)	(D)
Catalonian	105	88	(D)	(D)
Romanian	2,675	558	1,035	348
Welsh	95	64	20	20
Irish Gaelic	2,445	458	225	94
Scottic Gaelic	145	112	(B)	-
Albanian	9,580	1,184	4,685	779
Lithuanian	2,345	357	505	177
Latvian	505	159	115	58
Pashto	325	232	105	78
Kurdish	115	92	45	43
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLAND LANGUAGES	237,872	3,013	116,583	2,387
Chinese (incl Cantonese, Mandarin, other Chinese languages4)	106,715	2,891	56,534	2,110
Chinese	70,395	2,552	38,015	2,065
Hakka	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Cantonese	18,920	1,542	11,020	1,161
Mandarin	15,365	1,404	6,625	938
Fuchow	215	280	210	280
Formosan	1,730	406	665	264
Wu	60	45	(B)	-
Japanese	8,408	872	3,321	514
Korean	16,962	1,505	7,840	935
Mon-Khmer, Cambodian	21,869	1,594	11,369	944
Hmong	563	282	305	177
Thai	2,753	550	1,547	412
Laotian	3,113	699	1,468	348
Vietnamese	40,302	2,386	24,741	1,712
Other Asian languages	26,951	1,606	6,425	948
Kazakh	30	29	(D)	(D)
Uighur	55	70	(D)	(D)
Azerbaijani	160	170	(D)	(D)
Turkish	4,425	642	1,270	356
Mongolian	205	221	(D)	(D)
Dravidian	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Gondi	30	52	(D)	(D)
Telugu	7,625	921	1,850	476
Kannada	2,315	520	325	185
Malayalam	2,505	587	585	273
Tamil	7,630	1,013	1,075	332
Munda	130	117	(D)	(D)
Tibetan	760	281	225	134
Burmese	1,010	324	785	320
Karen	50	78	50	78
Tagalog	8,214	925	2,481	492
Other Pacific Island languages	2,022	456	552	178
Indonesian	1,045	372	270	153
Balinese	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Malay	350	135	65	63
Bisayan	215	162	110	102
Sebuano	30	28	(B)	-
Pampangan	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Chamorro	100	110	30	33
Marshallese	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Nauruan	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Palau	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Yapese	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Tongan	55	58	(B)	-
Hawaiian	110	116	(D)	(D)
ALL OTHER LANGUAGES	73,770	3,611	23,761	1,695
Navajo	52	58	(B)	-
Other Native North American languages	612	226	114	61
Algonquian	90	73	(D)	(D)
French Cree	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Micmac	20	20	(B)	-
Ojibwa	125	159	(D)	(D)
Abnaki	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Kuchin	105	93	(D)	(D)
Chasta Costa	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Kiowa	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Dakota	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Choctaw	65	99	(B)	-
Keres	40	40	(D)	(D)
Mohawk	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Comanche	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Tiwa	30	38	(D)	(D)
American Indian	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Hungarian	1,518	340	324	135
Arabic	29,436	2,143	11,942	1,183
Hebrew	7,348	799	805	201
African languages	32,981	2,248	10,032	1,028
Amharic	4,900	777	1,920	442
Berber	120	143	25	39
Chadic	335	179	(D)	(D)
Cushite	2,860	723	1,325	413
Sudanic	215	196	100	90
Nilotic	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Nilo-Hamitic	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Swahili	7,000	918	1,965	445
Bantu	4,015	848	750	259
Mande	455	169	125	75
Fulani	400	239	160	96
Kru, Ibo, Yoruba	12,215	1,264	3,455	611
Efik	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
African	355	182	165	116
Other and unspecified languages	1,823	382	544	219
Finnish	860	210	165	77
Estonian	195	87	45	45
Other Uralic languages	(D)	(D)	(B)	-
Caucasian	250	260	135	166
Basque	45	53	45	53
Syriac	105	79	50	42
Quechua	(D)	(D)	(D)	(D)
Arawakian	25	26	(B)	-
Chibchan	80	95	80	95
Uncodable	230	93	(B)	-

Notes

Number of speakers and Speak English less than "Very Well": Detailed-language estimates are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Aggregate estimates ("language category" and "language sub-category" entries) are unrounded and appear in table B16001. Detailed-language estimates may not sum to aggregate estimates because of rounding.
Margin of Error and Margin of Error: Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data. The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.
(D): Data withheld to avoid disclosure.
(B): Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate.
(X): Question does not apply.
-: Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.
3 N.E.C. stands for not elsewhere classified. These are languages where respondents indicated they spoke either Indian or Pakistan. For Indian, it cannot be determined if the respondent spoke a native American language or spoke a language from India. For Pakistan, respondents wrote in Pakistan but it cannot be determined which one of the languages spoken in Pakistan is actually being spoken. To distinguish these languages, n.e.c. is used to indicated they are not classified in any other language code.
This category includes literal write-ins of Chinese as well as Hakka, Kan, Hsiang, Cantonese, Mandarin, Fuchow, Formosan, and Wu.

ProbablyHelpful 2025