The 6 Most Common Languages Spoken in the United States

English

As of 2010, nearly 80% of U.S. residents aged five and older spoke English alone at home. Furthermore, this percentage has steadily grown over the last decade. English is the most common language in the United States, with at least 241 million speakers. The language first arrived in the United States during Britain’s colonization of the Americas. Since then, English has expanded rapidly across the present-day U.S., becoming the primary language used by Americans for centuries.

Spanish

The second-most common language in the U.S. is Spanish, which boasts approximately 42 million speakers as of 2019. The states with the highest percentage of Spanish speakers include California, Texas, New Mexico, and Florida. Many Spanish speakers in the western U.S. come from Mexico, while speakers in the East derive from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Like the abundance of English speakers in the U.S., the number of Spanish speakers is only growing. This growth is partially due to immigration and native-born speakers. When immigrant parents arrive in the U.S. and give birth to children, the children often must translate for their parents, becoming bilingual in English and Spanish.

Additionally, the Hispanic and Latino communities in the U.S. represent the largest ethnic minority group. These communities are found in every major city, and part of what keeps their cultural traditions alive is their language. These factors contribute to a high percentage of native-born Spanish speakers, one that supersedes the percentage of native-born speakers of other common languages, such as Chinese and Arabic. Over half of the Spanish speakers in the U.S. are native-born.

Chinese

Chinese is the third-most common language in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million speakers. The language of Chinese refers to a family of languages, which include Mandarin and Cantonese. Mandarin and Cantonese are widely spoken across the United States. Some states that report Cantonese and Mandarin as their most spoken languages besides English and Spanish include Washington, Virginia, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and over a dozen more.

Just over 20% of Chinese speakers are native-born, and Chinese speakers are more likely to become naturalized citizens than not citizens at all. This statistic differs from the Hispanic community, whose speakers are more likely not to become citizens than to become naturalized citizens. Furthermore, Chinese speakers aged 20 to 39 make up the largest age group compared to other speakers of the language. Moreover, nearly half of Chinese speakers in the U.S. are under 40.

Tagalog

Originating in the Philippines, Tagalog is the fourth-most common language spoken in the United States. One interesting fact about the language is that it claims many speakers in Nevada. Approximately 1.76 million U.S. residents speak Tagalog. While the language is more than 1,000 years old, it first arrived in the United States during the 16^th century.

Despite its long history in the U.S., most speakers of this language are foreign-born. Only 13% of Tagalog speakers are native-born U.S. citizens, and most are naturalized citizens. This high percentage of naturalized citizenship is likely due to the age of speakers. Nearly 70% of Tagalog speakers are older than 40. 

Vietnamese

The fifth-most common language in the United States is Vietnamese, which boasts over 1.5 million speakers. Most speakers of this language are naturalized citizens, and over 20% of speakers are native-born. States that claim a large population of Vietnamese speakers include Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma as of 2021.

Additionally, Vietnamese speakers record the lowest education attainment compared to other Asian-based languages, such as Chinese and Tagalog. This education statistic is likely the result of the age of this language’s speakers. Of the most common Asian-based languages in the U.S., Vietnamese records the highest number of speakers under 20. By comparison, Tagalog records the highest number of speakers over 40 and the highest level of education attainment compared to all other languages.

Arabic

Over 1.26 million Arabic speakers reside in the United States, making it the sixth-most common language in the nation. Around 60% of Arabic speakers are under 40, and approximately 30% of speakers are native-born. Arabic speakers record the lowest employment rate compared to the speakers of the other most common languages in the United States. This statistic is surprising, considering that over 60% of Arabic speakers have a college degree, making their education attainment higher than that of Vietnamese and Spanish speakers. Tennessee and Michigan claim many Arabic speakers compared to other states.