E.g., 06/13/2024
E.g., 06/13/2024
State Language Data - MD
 

Maryland

Language & Education
2022
2000
1990
English Proficiency

Note: The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English.

Note: The term "foreign born" refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent immigrants (or green-card holders), refugees and asylees, certain legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or some other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.

Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 1,021,007
Speak only English 20.2%
Speak English "very well" 41.9%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 37.9%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2022 100.9%
% change: 1990-2000 87.9%
English Proficiency of the Foreign Born by U.S. Citizenship Status (age 5 and older)*

Note: The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English. Data for Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS.

 
Naturalized citizens 560,640
Speak only English 26%
Speak English "very well" 47.9%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 26.1%
Noncitizens 460,367
Speak only English 13.2%
Speak English "very well" 34.6%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 52.2%

Note: The term "U.S. born" refers to people residing in the United States who were U.S. citizens in one of three categories: people born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; people born in U.S. Insular Areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam; or people who were born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.

U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 4,794,460
Speak only English 91.9%
Speak English ""very well"" 6.7%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1.4%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Population: Change over Time  
% change: 2000-2011 25.2%
% change: 1990-2000 20.8%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 511,881
Speak only English 22.5%
"Speak English ""very well"" 39.9%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 37.6%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 4,433,162
Speak only English 94.9%
"Speak English ""very well"" 3.9%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1.2%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 307,273
Speak only English 27.9%
"Speak English ""very well"" 38.8%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 33.3%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
English Proficiency (age 5 and older) (%) 4,116,970
Speak only English 95.8%
"Speak English ""very well"" 3.1%
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1.1%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
Population (age 5 and older)
 
 
Language Spoken at Home (by age and English proficiency)

Note: The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English.

Number
Ages 5-17 997,538
Speak only English 783,450
Speak language other than English 214,088
Speak English "very well"
161,967
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
52,121
Speak Spanish 119,193
Speak English "very well"
89,414
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
29,779
Ages 18-64 3,775,150
Speak only English 2,929,582
Speak language other than English 845,568
Speak English "very well"
512,017
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
333,551
Speak Spanish 362,791
Speak English "very well"
165,743
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
197,048
65 and Older 1,042,779
Speak only English 898,850
Speak language other than English 143,929
Speak English "very well"
75,442
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
68,487
Speak Spanish 37,061
Speak English "very well"
19,334
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP)
17,727
%
65 and Older 100%
Speak only English 78.5%
Speak language other than English 21.5%
Speak English "very well" 16.2%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 5.2%
Speak Spanish 11.9%
Speak English "very well" 9.0%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 3.0%
Ages 18-64 100%
Speak only English 77.6%
Speak language other than English 22.4%
Speak English "very well" 13.6%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 8.8%
Speak Spanish 9.6%
Speak English "very well" 4.4%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 5.2%
Ages 5-17 100%
Speak only English 86.2%
Speak language other than English 13.8%
Speak English "very well" 7.2%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 6.6%
Speak Spanish 3.6%
Speak English "very well" 1.9%
Speak English less than "very well" (LEP) 1.7%
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
Population (age 5 and older)
 
 
Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency)

Note: 1) The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English "not at all," "not well," or "well" on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English "very well" are considered proficient in English. 2) Data for Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS.

Number
Total Household Population, Age 5 and Older 5,815,467
Speak only English 4,611,882
Speak language other than English 1,203,585
Spanish 519,045
Speak English "very well" 274,491
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 244,554
French (Including Cajun) 52,848
Speak English "very well" 37,946
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 14,902
Haitian 14,226
Speak English "very well" 10,693
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 3,533
Italian 7,866
Speak English "very well" 5,257
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,609
Portuguese 16,623
Speak English "very well" 11,137
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,486
German 14,496
Speak English "very well" 11,975
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,521
Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch or Other West Germanic Languages 8,363
Speak English "very well" 5,943
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,420
Russian 25,402
Speak English "very well" 17,082
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 8,320
Polish 4,618
Speak English "very well" 3,510
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,108
Other Slavic Languages 11,122
Speak English "very well" 7,162
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 3,960
Armenian 1,317
Speak English "very well" 898
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 419
Persian (including Farsi, Dari) 17,969
Speak English "very well" 10,831
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 7,138
Gujarati 6,956
Speak English "very well" 4,874
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,082
Hindi 19,122
Speak English "very well" 15,743
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 3,379
Urdu 18,324
Speak English "very well" 12,683
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,641
Punjabi 5,012
Speak English "very well" 3,861
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,151
Bengali 11,111
Speak English "very well" 6,913
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4,198
Nepali, Marathi, or Other Indic Languages 20,630
Speak English "very well" 13,253
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 7,377
Other Indo-European Languages 17,031
Speak English "very well" 13,024
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4,007
Telugu 12,473
Speak English "very well" 9,978
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,495
Tamil 7,538
Speak English "very well" 5,732
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 1,806
Malayalam, Kannada, or Other Dravidian Languages 7,044
Speak English "very well" 6,229
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 815
Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese) 76,605
Speak English "very well" 40,365
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 36,240
Japanese 7,859
Speak English "very well" 4,658
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 3,201
Korean 34,399
Speak English "very well" 16,681
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 17,718
Hmong N
Speak English "very well" N
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) N
Vietnamese 19,398
Speak English "very well" 8,689
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 10,709
Khmer 1,034
Speak English "very well" 503
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 531
Thai, Lao, or Other Tai-Kadai Languages 5,910
Speak English "very well" 3,105
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,805
Other Languages of Asia 11,097
Speak English "very well" 7,496
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 3,601
Tagalog (including Filipino) 37,003
Speak English "very well" 28,853
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 8,150
Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian, or Other Austronesian Languages 5,235
Speak English "very well" 3,107
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,128
Arabic 18,277
Speak English "very well" 13,137
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 5,140
Hebrew 4,848
Speak English "very well" 4,242
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 606
Amharic, Somali, or Other Afro-Asiatic Languages 55,189
Speak English "very well" 39,668
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 15,521
Yoruba, Twi, Igbo, or Other Languages of Western Africa 71,087
Speak English "very well" 60,762
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 10,325
Swahili or Other Languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa 20,922
Speak English "very well" 16,414
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 4,508
Native Languages of North America 864
Speak English "very well" 734
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 130
Other and Unspecified Languages 14,722
Speak English "very well" 11,797
Speak English less than “very well” (LEP) 2,925
%
Field 306 100%
Field 307 79.3%
Field 308 20.7%
Field 310 100%
Field 310 52.9%
Field 310 47.1%
Field 313 100%
Field 314 71.8%
Field 315 28.2%
Field 316 100%
Field 316 75.2%
Field 316 24.8%
Field 319 100%
Field 319 66.8%
Field 319 33.2%
Field 322 100%
Field 322 67.0%
Field 322 33.0%
Field 325 100%
Field 325 82.6%
Field 325 17.4%
Field 328 100%
Field 328 71.1%
Field 328 28.9%
Field 331 100%
Field 331 67.2%
Field 331 32.8%
Field 334 100%
Field 334 76.0%
Field 334 24.0%
Field 337 100%
Field 337 64.4%
Field 337 35.6%
Field 340 100%
Field 340 68.2%
Field 340 31.8%
Field 343 100%
Field 343 60.3%
Field 343 39.7%
Field 346 100%
Field 346 70.1%
Field 346 29.9%
Field 349 100%
Field 349 82.3%
Field 349 17.7%
Field 352 100%
Field 352 69.2%
Field 352 30.8%
Field 355 100%
Field 355 77.0%
Field 355 23.0%
Field 358 100%
Field 358 62.2%
Field 358 37.8%
Field 361 100%
Field 361 64.2%
Field 361 35.8%
Field 364 100%
Field 364 76.5%
Field 364 23.5%
Field 367 100%
Field 367 80.0%
Field 367 20.0%
Field 370 100%
Field 370 76.0%
Field 370 24.0%
Field 373 100%
Field 373 88.4%
Field 373 11.6%
Field 376 100%
Field 376 52.7%
Field 376 47.3%
Field 379 100%
Field 379 59.3%
Field 379 40.7%
Field 382 100%
Field 382 48.5%
Field 382 51.5%
Field 385 100%
Field 385 N
Field 385 N
Field 388 100%
Field 388 44.8%
Field 388 55.2%
Field 391 100%
Field 391 48.6%
Field 391 51.4%
Field 394 100%
Field 394 52.5%
Field 394 47.5%
Field 397 100%
Field 397 67.5%
Field 397 32.5%
Field 400 100%
Field 400 78.0%
Field 400 22.0%
Field 403 100%
Field 403 59.4%
Field 403 40.6%
Field 406 100%
Field 406 71.9%
Field 406 28.1%
Field 409 100%
Field 409 87.5%
Field 409 12.5%
Field 412 100%
Field 412 71.9%
Field 412 28.1%
Field 415 100%
Field 415 85.5%
Field 415 14.5%
Field 418 100%
Field 418 78.5%
Field 418 21.5%
Field 421 100%
Field 421 85.0%
Field 421 15.0%
Field 424 100%
Field 424 80.1%
Field 424 19.9%
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Educational Attainment Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 885,860
Less than high school diploma 17.7%
High school diploma or GED 19.9%
Some college or associate's degree 17.1%
Bachelor's degree 22.0%
Graduate or professional degree 23.2%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 42.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher 21.3%
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2022 73.5%
% change: 1990-2000 68.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2022 141.3%
% change: 1990-2000 82.5%
Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status (foreign-born adults, age 25 and older)

Note: 1) Data for Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS. 2) The letter N Indicates that a number could not be provided by the Census Bureau because the number of sample cases was too small for this state.

 
Naturalized citizens (%) 521,295
Less than high school diploma 10.2%
High school diploma or GED 17.2%
Some college or associate's degree 19.5%
Bachelor's degree 25.5%
Graduate or professional degree 27.6%
Noncitizens (%) 364,565
Less than high school diploma 28.5%
High school diploma or GED 23.9%
Some college or associate's degree 13.6%
Bachelor's degree 17.1%
Graduate or professional degree 16.9%
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 3,400,356
Less than high school diploma 6.2%
High school diploma or GED 24.5%
Some college or associate's degree 25.8%
Bachelor's degree 23.6%
Graduate or professional degree 19.9%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Nothing  
Nothing  
Educational Attainment: Change over Time  
Adults with no high school diploma  
% change: 2000-2011 -55.5%
% change: 1990-2000 -23.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher  
% change: 2000-2011 58.9%
% change: 1990-2000 25.7%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 413,130
Less than high school diploma 21.9%
High school diploma or GED 17.7%
Some college or associate's degree 20.2%
Bachelor's degree 19.4%
Graduate or professional degree 20.9%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 16.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher 15.2%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 3,082,441
Less than high school diploma 15.4%
High school diploma or GED 27.9%
Some college or associate's degree 26.6%
Bachelor's degree 17.7%
Graduate or professional degree 12.4%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Foreign Born
Population (age 25 and older) 247,691
Less than high school diploma 21.7%
High school diploma or GED 19.4%
Some college or associate's degree 22.2%
Bachelor's degree 17.8%
Graduate or professional degree 19.0%
% Foreign Born among Adults with  
Less than high school diploma 8.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher 11.0%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
U.S. Born
Population (age 25 and older) 2,876,478
Less than high school diploma 21.5%
High school diploma or GED 28.7%
Some college or associate's degree 24.1%
Bachelor's degree 15.5%
Graduate or professional degree 10.2%
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Sources: Migration Policy Institute tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and Decennial Census. Unless stated otherwise, 2022 data are from the one-year ACS file. For information about ACS definitions, click here. For ACS methodology, sampling error, and nonsampling error, click here. Estimates from 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census data as well as ACS microdata are from Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rogers, and Megan Schouweiler. IPUMS USA: Version 14.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2023. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V14.0​.

Definitions

  • The term "foreign born" refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent immigrants (or green-card holders), refugees and asylees, certain legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or some other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.
  • The term "U.S. born" refers to people residing in the United States who were U.S. citizens in one of three categories: people born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; people born in U.S. Insular Areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam; or people who were born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.
  • The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English “not at all,” “not well,” or “well” on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English “very well” are considered proficient in English.

Data-related notes

  • The letter N indicates that an estimate could not be provided by the Census Bureau because the number of sample cases was too small for this state.
  • For “English proficiency of the foreign born by U.S. citizenship status” and “Educational Attainment by U.S. Citizenship Status”: Data for Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS. 
  • For “Language Spoken at Home (detailed, by English proficiency)”: Data for Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the U.S. Census Bureau's pooled 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2022 ACS.