Where 60 Million People in the U.S. Don't Speak English at Home

Since 1890, the Census Bureau has been asking people what language they speak in their private homes, a nod to the fact that the U.S. has long been a linguistic melting pot (despite the many local efforts to stamp English as an "official" language of some kind). As the country's demographics have been changing, the share of Americans who don't speak English at home has been rising: In 2000, these households made up 17.9 percent of the population. By 2007, it was 19.7 percent. As of the latest data, from the 2011 American Community Survey, the share is now 20.8 percent – fully one-fifth of all people living in the U.S.

That's about 60.6 million people, all of whom the Census Bureau has just plotted on a useful map of where America's many languages are spoken (bring your patience if you click over to the tool itself; it's a little fluky). The map shows not just the ubiquity of Spanish-language households, but also the geography of historic immigrant communities from all over the world that lend some cities their distinctive, international culture.