Demographic Data

A federally conducted or funded program should consider assessing the number or proportion of limited English proficient (LEP) persons from each language group in its service area to determine appropriate language assistance services. Below are federal government and non-governmental sources of language data that can assist in assessing the LEP communities in your service area. These are a sampling of the resources that may be useful and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Justice or by the Federal Interagency Working Group on LEP.

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau- Reports at Least 350 Languages Spoken in U.S. Homes (Novemer 3, 2015) [Detailed Tables]

U.S. Census Bureau- How Well Do You Speak English? Assessing the Validity of the American Community Survey English-Ability Question (October 7, 2015) [Blog] [Working Paper]

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), Language Use Data

U.S. Census Bureau- Language Map based on 2007-2011, Language Data

U.S. Department of Education

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), English Language Learners (ELL), ELL Fast Facts

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Frequently Asked Questions on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): Applying the Tagline Requirement to Covered Entities that Operate Health Programs or Activities in More than One State – (HTML)

Resource for Entities Covered by Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act Estimates of at Least the Top 15 Languages Spoken by Individuals with Limited English Proficiency for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories- (PDF)

Non-Governmental Demographic Data

Migration Policy Institute

• Language Diversity and English Proficiency in the United States- (November 11, 2016)
• The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States- (July 8, 2015)

Migration Policy Institute, ELL Information Center

The Modern Language Association, Language Map