Primary Language other than English [Washington (State)]
State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal · 2025 Full Details
Tip: Check “Visit Source” link for download options.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Click on map to inspect values | |
Full Details
- Title
- Primary Language other than English [Washington (State)]
- Description
- This data is included as part of the Environmental Health Disparities Version 3.0 map. To see this map, visit our webpage . For more technical information on this map and the model used, visit our technical report (link). Background The U.S. Census Bureau measures "linguistic isolation" for people ages five and older using self-reported difficulties with speaking English. People who don't primarily speak English experience more racial discrimination, social isolation, and exposure to pollution. Each of these can contribute to worse health outcomes. Linguistic isolation can also prevent participation in community engagement, understanding important information, and accessing services. Linguistically isolated people may have trouble accessing health education and health services. Health information and emergency plans should be created in a culturally sensitive way to ensure everyone's safety and well-being during a crisis. This means considering factors like language, cultural norms, and the specific needs of different groups. Evidence Linguistic isolation worsens existing racial and ethnic health inequalities. This is partly due to people lacking access to health care in their primary language [1]. Planning for language and cultural diversity is especially important during public health emergencies, when evacuating or taking safety precautions needs to be done quickly [2]. Places and initiatives that do not consider the needs of non-English speakers prevent participation in local decisions, such as environmental policies. This can lead to health issues related to pollution and environmental health disparities [3]. English proficiency is also linked to employment and income. People who don't speak English as their first language have a harder time finding jobs because of negative perceptions around their capability or qualifications to do the job. This can lead to lower earnings over time [4]. The "Populations living in poverty" data note has information on how poverty can increase risk from environmental hazards. Because of all these factors, children who speak a language other than English at home are more likely to be exposed to pollution, including industrial air pollution and lead [5]. Data Source American Community Survey 5-year estimates, B06007: Place of Birth by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English Methods The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) asks detailed questions on social and economic topics. This measure uses data on the language spoken at home and ability to speak English from the ACS's 5-year estimates. This measure shows the percentage of people ages five and older who report both: speaking a language other than English at home AND speaking English "less than very well". For more information on how ACS data is collected and processed, refer to ACS General Data Users Handbooks . Data Source Variables Used Calculations Performed* ACS 5-year, B06007: Place of Birth by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English B06007_005, B06007_008, B06007_001 # Speaks English less than Very Well = sum (B06007_005, B06007_008) Population 5+ = B06007_001 % Speaks English less than Very Well = sum (B06007_005, B06007_008) / B06007_001 * For margin of error (MOE) calculations, refer to U.S. Census Bureau, A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data Appendix 1 . For MOEs in which we derived either the numerator or denominator of a proportion from multiple ACS variables, see "Calculating MOEs for Aggregated Count Data." For MOEs derived from proportions, see "Calculating MOEs for Derived Proportions." The data table shows the estimate for this variable minus the MOE (lower ME) and the estimate plus the MOE (upper ME). Caveats The data are based on how people feel about their own ability to speak English. This is often influenced by their interactions with others. In the United States, many interpret an accent as evidence that a person is not fluent in English. These assumptions can lead to negative interactions and lower self-ratings. The ACS is known to undercount some populations. This includes young children who live with more than one parent or guardian, people without stable housing, and households that do not conform to the nuclear family structure. Populations that are undercounted in the ACS are more likely have less financial opportunity. The margin of error shows how much uncertainty there is about whether the survey data accurately represents the full population. The confidence interval is the estimate plus or minus the margin of error. There is a 90 percent probability that the true population value is within the confidence interval, after accounting for sampling variability. All survey data have some margin of error due to sampling variability. Results from smaller populations are less reliable because of their smaller sample sizes, leading to a larger margin of error. Counts for American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations are known to be less reliable. The survey design attempts to address these issues through increased sampling rates in smaller populations and on Tribal lands. The data may also have non-sampling errors, which aren't shown in the tables. These can happen if there are problems with the survey questions, if there are issues with processing or weighting the data, or if certain groups of people don't respond [6]. Individuals with a distrust for government, more concerns about privacy, and who are very busy are less likely to respond to the survey. This measure is aggregated across the census tract and does not represent each individual community within the tract. These data should always be supplemented with local data and equitable engagement for more accurate insights. ACS bundles data in one-year, three-year, or five-year groups to get more reliable results. To have census tract data on all 39 counties in Washington, we use the ACS five-year grouping. Sources Nguyen D., Reardon LJ. (2013). The role of race and English proficiency on the health of older immigrants. Soc Work Health Care. 52(6):599-617. Uekusa , S., Matthewman, S. (2023). Preparing multilingual disaster communication for the crises of tomorrow: A conceptual discussion. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 87, 2212-4209. Pastor Jr., M., Morello-Frosch, R., & Sadd., J. (2010). Air pollution and environmental justice: Integrating measures of cumulative impact and socio-economic vulnerability into regulatory decision-making. Final report. California Air Resources Board. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/classic/research/apr/past/04-308.pdf Cheeseman Day, J. & Shin H.B. (2005). How Does Ability to Speak English Affect Earnings? Annual Meetings of the Population Association of America. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2005/demo/2005-Day-Shin.pdf Payne-Sturges, D. C., Taiwo, T. K., Ellickson, K., Mullen, H., Tchangalova , N., Anderko, L., Chen, A., & Swanson, M. (2023). Disparities in toxic chemical exposures and associated neurodevelopmental outcomes: A scoping review and systematic evidence map of the epidemiological literature. Environmental Health Perspectives, 131(9), 096001. Pickering, K. (2022, December 9). Nonresponse in census surveys [PDF]. Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. https://apps.bea.gov/fesac/meetings/2022-12-09/Pickering-FESACNonresponse-in-Census-Surveys-12092022.pdf Citation Washington Tracking Network, Washington State Department of Health. Web. "Primary Language other than English". Data obtained from the American Community Survey, 2019-2023 Place of Birth by Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English Data. Published September 2025.
- Creator
- WADOH
- Publisher
- State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal
- Temporal Coverage
- Last Modified: 2025-07-16
- Date Issued
- 2025-07-08
- Rights
- Neither the Washington State Department of Health (WADOH), nor any agency, officer, or employee of the WADOH warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity who relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.
- Access Rights
- Public
- Format
- ArcGIS FeatureLayer
- Language
- English
- Date Added
- February 02, 2026
- Provenance Statement
- The metadata for this resource was last retrieved from State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal on 2026-02-02.
Cite and Reference
-
Citation
WADOH (2025). Primary Language other than English [Washington (State)]. State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal. https://geo.wa.gov/datasets/ad7627ff1549462fb4c66578b14d4966_0 (web service) -
BTAA Geoportal Link
