Demographics
Language Diversity

Increasing


Language Diversity

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What does this measure?

The share of people 5 and older in a geographic area who speak a language other than English at home. This includes both people who speak English well and those who do not.

Why is this important?

Language diversity can indicate a growing bilingual or multilingual population, and it may also indicate a need for language instruction or bilingual services and communication.

How does our county compare?

In 2018-22, 16% of Lancaster County residents spoke a language other than English at home, a one percentage point increase since 2008-12. This was higher than Pennsylvania, at 12%, but less than the U.S., at 22%. Both the state and nation had similar increases as Lancaster County during this period.

The City of Lancaster had the most language diversity--about a third of its population spoke a language other than English in their homes, followed by Berks County at 19%. All surrounding counties saw increases in this population since 2008-12 lead by Lebanon County which experienced the highest increase of 3 percentage points since 2009-12, followed by Berks and Dauphin with increases of 2 percentage points each.

Notes about the data

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined 5 years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

Language Diversity
2008-122013-172018-22
Pennsylvania10%11%12%
Lancaster County15%17%16%
Lancaster City34%37%32%
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster32%35%31%
Cocalico School District8%*10%*9%*
Columbia Borough School District9%*8%*14%*
Conestoga Valley School District23%27%23%
Donegal School District5%**5%*6%*
Eastern Lancaster County School District24%24%21%
Elizabethtown Area School District4%*4%*4%*
Ephrata Area School District13%11%12%
Hempfield School District10%8%10%
Lampeter-Strasburg School District5%*10%*9%*
Manheim Central School District6%*6%*3%**
Manheim Township School District12%15%14%
Penn Manor School District7%7%12%
Pequea Valley School District39%40%44%
Solanco School District21%22%26%
Warwick School District6%*8%*5%*
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough4%***10%***10%***
Akron borough11%**11%***9%**
Christiana borough8%***6%***5%***
Columbia borough9%*8%*14%*
Denver township5%**8%***12%***
East Petersburg borough9%**6%***7%***
Elizabethtown borough5%*6%*7%**
Ephrata borough13%*8%*11%*
Lititz borough5%**7%***5%**
Manheim borough5%***6%***3%***
Marietta borough1%***4%***5%***
Millersville borough7%*8%**15%**
Mount Joy borough8%***8%**10%**
Mountville borough17%**11%***5%***
New Holland borough16%*11%**7%***
Quarryville borough7%***5%***12%***
Strasburg borough4%***4%***2%***
Terre Hill borough7%***9%***12%***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township56%49%56%
Brecknock township10%*16%*15%*
Caernarvon township24%*24%*24%*
Clay township9%**16%*11%**
Colerain township33%*48%35%*
Conestoga township5%***2%***3%***
Conoy township6%***4%***2%***
Drumore township36%*17%*28%*
Earl township35%41%34%*
East Cocalico township12%*14%***9%*
East Donegal township2%***2%***3%***
East Drumore township13%**12%**6%***
East Earl township38%*31%*25%*
East Hempfield township9%*9%11%*
East Lampeter township18%22%21%*
Eden township33%*43%50%*
Elizabeth township6%**8%***4%***
Ephrata township18%*12%*16%*
Fulton township17%**21%*29%*
Lancaster township21%25%25%
Leacock township56%48%60%
Little Britain township21%**13%***33%**
Manheim township12%15%14%
Manor township8%*7%*13%*
Martic township13%***8%**15%**
Mount Joy township4%**4%**4%***
Paradise township36%*41%41%*
Penn township7%**8%***3%***
Pequea township2%***5%***7%***
Providence township5%**10%***10%**
Rapho township6%***5%**4%***
Sadsbury township27%41%35%*
Salisbury township33%35%38%
Strasburg township7%***32%*22%**
Upper Leacock township32%31%29%*
Warwick township6%*9%*6%**
West Cocalico township6%**5%**6%***
West Donegal township2%***2%***2%***
West Earl township27%*33%*21%*
West Hempfield township9%*7%*11%*
West Lampeter township4%*4%**7%*
Berks County17%18%19%
Chester County12%12%13%
Cumberland County8%9%9%
Dauphin County11%12%13%
Lebanon County10%12%13%
York County7%7%8%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




Number of People who Speak a Language Other Than English at Home
2008-122013-172018-22
Pennsylvania1,219,6731,328,0551,452,522
Lancaster County74,99283,43984,138
Lancaster City18,59720,47517,349
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster21,76924,46621,693
Cocalico School District1,783*2,225*2,009*
Columbia Borough School District841*744*1,409*
Conestoga Valley School District7,2168,5267,509
Donegal School District938**1,101*1,235*
Eastern Lancaster County School District7,0487,4826,423
Elizabethtown Area School District1,083*1,174*1,276*
Ephrata Area School District4,0933,5704,043
Hempfield School District4,3613,7205,084
Lampeter-Strasburg School District1,059*2,095*2,078*
Manheim Central School District1,390*1,553*866**
Manheim Township School District4,2045,5995,753
Penn Manor School District2,9092,7985,131
Pequea Valley School District7,5438,0379,184
Solanco School District6,2476,5897,720
Warwick School District1,596*2,440*1,606*
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough72***205***220***
Akron borough419**402***348**
Christiana borough84***49***46***
Columbia borough841*744*1,409*
Denver township172**300***421***
East Petersburg borough390**250***293***
Elizabethtown borough539*668*758**
Ephrata borough1,576*1,037*1,379*
Lititz borough399**622***459**
Manheim borough224***264***115***
Marietta borough20***107***134***
Millersville borough558*685**1,205**
Mount Joy borough537***573**775**
Mountville borough461**303***146***
New Holland borough798*541**385***
Quarryville borough168***114***304***
Strasburg borough115***119***62***
Terre Hill borough86***112***109***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township1,4961,4461,597
Brecknock township652*1,099*1,065*
Caernarvon township1,019*1,077*1,034*
Clay township519**972*725**
Colerain township1,080*1,6071,192*
Conestoga township163***82***127***
Conoy township191***138***54***
Drumore township850*400*668*
Earl township2,2242,7042,222*
East Cocalico township1,114*1,362***964*
East Donegal township170***189***235***
East Drumore township459**427**220***
East Earl township2,269*1,949*1,608*
East Hempfield township2,112*2,1392,867*
East Lampeter township2,7583,5153,452*
Eden township608*784989*
Elizabeth township215**305***132***
Ephrata township1,579*1,159*1,591*
Fulton township480**637*810*
Lancaster township3,2024,0534,301
Leacock township2,6102,3463,136
Little Britain township798**505***1,247**
Manheim township4,2045,5995,796
Manor township1,460*1,427*2,722*
Martic township620***392**688**
Mount Joy township394**446**411***
Paradise township1,698*2,0492,133*
Penn township584**691***280***
Pequea township108***212***389***
Providence township308**669***693**
Rapho township582***598**471***
Sadsbury township8281,2711,073*
Salisbury township3,2353,6423,915
Strasburg township294***1,250*862**
Upper Leacock township2,5212,4722,396*
Warwick township982*1,513*1,015**
West Cocalico township425**358**404***
West Donegal township170***154***144***
West Earl township1,937*2,539*1,661*
West Hempfield township1,398*1,028*1,778*
West Lampeter township620*664**1,154*
Berks County64,00671,75178,750
Chester County55,70758,91564,909
Cumberland County17,32120,69823,499
Dauphin County26,58930,40935,172
Lebanon County12,60415,52517,066
York County27,04830,00235,465

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




INDICATORS TREND
Prekindergarten Participation Increasing
Student Performance on Grade 3 English Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate Increasing
Per-Student Spending Maintaining
Students Receiving Special Education Services Increasing
Rate of Foster Care Admissions Maintaining
Disengaged Youth Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Plans of High School Graduates Not Applicable
Enrollment in Local Colleges Decreasing
College Graduation Rates Decreasing
Brain Drain/Gain Increasing
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Average Charitable Giving Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Increasing
Age of Housing Stock Not Applicable
Violent Crime Rate Maintaining
Incarceration Rate Decreasing
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population Density Increasing
Air Quality Decreasing
Water Use Decreasing
Waterways Impaired by Pollution Not Applicable
Change in Population Increasing
Change in Population by Age and Gender Not Applicable
Population by Age Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People with Disabilities Maintaining
Foreign-Born Population Increasing
Language Diversity Increasing
Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Change in Employment by Sector Not Applicable
Sector Share of Total Jobs Not Applicable
Workers by Occupation Not Applicable
Change in Labor Force Maintaining
People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary Since 2000 Increasing
Female to Male Earnings Ratio Maintaining
Employer Size Not Applicable
Change in Number of Businesses by Sector Increasing
Change in Total Agricultural Sales Increasing
Spending for Local Government Maintaining
Spending for School Districts Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty Decreasing
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Decreasing
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Veterans Living in Poverty Maintaining
Working Poor Decreasing
Median Household Income by Household Type Not Applicable
Median Household Income Maintaining
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Living Wage Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Household Receiving Temporary Assistance Maintaining
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch Increasing
Median Home Value Maintaining
Occupied Housing Units Maintaining
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Rent Maintaining
Cost of Renting Increasing
Households Without Vehicles Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Without Health Insurance Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Health Status Decreasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness Maintaining
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese Not Applicable
Mortality Rates Decreasing
Mortality Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Increasing
Fatal Drug Overdoses Increasing
Cancer Incidence Decreasing
Households With Internet Access Increasing
High-Tech Jobs Increasing
STEM Graduates Increasing
Science and Engineering Research and Development Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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