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Today the United States holds over 313.9 Million people, with languages spoken from all over the world. Did you know that non-English languages have more than doubled in the U.S. since 1980?

As our country is extremely diverse and increasingly expanding toward bilingual households, you might still be surprised to see some of the most common languages spoken in homes in the United States. Do you know the most widely spoken languages other than English in the United States?

Below are the top 10 non-English languages spoken in the United States.

10. Portuguese

Nearly doubling (95 percent) since 1980, approximately 687,126 Portuguese speakers can be found in the U.S., most notably in New York, Providence, Boston and Miami.

9. Italian

Representing the largest decline on this list, Italian claims only 798,801 speakers – half as many as in 1980. Italian can still be heard in places like New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

8. Russian

Almost as big a boost as Vietnamese, the 851,174 Russian-speakers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco, among other cities, have increased by 391 percent.

7. Korean

1,062,337 speakers of Korean, located mainly in Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC and Chicago, have quadrupled (299 percent) over the last thirty years.

6. German

Found primarily in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC, German-speakers number 1,104,354, which is actually a 30 percent decrease in speakers since 1980.

5. Vietnamese

With an increase of 510 percent since 1980, Vietnamese is the language with the biggest change, with 1,207,004 speakers found in Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston and Dallas, among other cities.

4. Tagalog

This language from the Phillipines boasts 1,480,429 speakers in the U.S. – slightly more than tripling (212 percent) its numbers in the last three decades. Speakers of Tagalog are concentrated mainly in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and San Diego.

3. French

The 1,984,824 French-speakers found primarily in New York, Washington DC, Boston and Miami represent a 28 percent increase compared to 1980.

2. Chinese

Just about 2,464,572 people speak Chinese, an increase of 290 percent! You’re most likely to find Chinese-speakers in New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

1. Spanish

With 34,547,077 speakers, the number of Spanish-speakers in the US has increased by 210 percent since 1980, with the highest concentrations in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Chicago.

Access 2 Interpreters is a Columbus Interpretation Company and an Ohio Translation Company. A2I is dedicated to providing professional interpretation and translation services throughout Ohio and across the U.S.

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