Languages Spoken in New York
Linguistic diversity, English proficiency, and languages spoken at home across New York cities
Language Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSCities with Data
50
of top 50 by population
Most Multilingual City
Kiryas Joel
7.3% English only
Avg. Limited English
12.8%
across reported cities
Across the top 50 cities in New York with language data, Kiryas Joel stands out as the most linguistically diverse, with only 7.3% of residents speaking English exclusively at home. On average, 12.8% of residents across these cities have limited English proficiency, meaning they speak English less than "very well."
Most Multilingual Cities in New York
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS| # | City | Population | English Only % | Spanish % | Asian/Pacific % | Limited English % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiryas Joel | 36,572 | 7.3% | 2.6% | 0.0% | 63.9% |
| 2 | Spring Valley | 32,995 | 24.0% | 26.4% | 2.6% | 46.9% |
| 3 | Central Islip | 37,751 | 39.6% | 54.7% | 0.7% | 27.0% |
| 4 | Port Chester | 31,162 | 40.2% | 52.7% | 1.3% | 31.6% |
| 5 | Yonkers | 209,529 | 50.5% | 35.0% | 3.3% | 18.7% |
| 6 | Hempstead | 58,569 | 52.4% | 40.6% | 0.7% | 26.7% |
| 7 | Hicksville | 43,868 | 52.5% | 13.6% | 7.5% | 17.8% |
| 8 | New York | 8,516,202 | 52.5% | 22.7% | 8.7% | 22.1% |
| 9 | Elmont | 36,436 | 52.7% | 19.3% | 6.0% | 19.3% |
| 10 | Newburgh | 28,649 | 53.2% | 43.0% | 0.2% | 18.1% |
| 11 | Uniondale | 33,637 | 54.0% | 36.1% | 1.2% | 24.0% |
| 12 | Freeport | 44,102 | 55.5% | 38.1% | 0.7% | 21.5% |
| 13 | Valley Stream | 40,278 | 56.2% | 20.0% | 6.2% | 13.9% |
| 14 | Bay Shore | 31,275 | 56.4% | 31.1% | 0.4% | 20.1% |
| 15 | White Plains | 59,818 | 58.3% | 27.2% | 4.0% | 17.0% |
| 16 | New Rochelle | 81,591 | 59.9% | 25.8% | 3.1% | 14.7% |
| 17 | Huntington Station | 33,283 | 62.9% | 27.1% | 2.9% | 16.0% |
| 18 | Franklin Square | 30,559 | 64.4% | 13.1% | 7.7% | 13.7% |
| 19 | Middletown | 30,227 | 65.0% | 29.8% | 2.6% | 16.4% |
| 20 | Utica | 64,440 | 67.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% | 14.5% |
| 21 | East Meadow | 35,806 | 67.6% | 9.2% | 5.8% | 8.1% |
| 22 | New City | 34,133 | 70.0% | 10.7% | 7.9% | 8.4% |
| 23 | Baldwin | 33,595 | 71.6% | 15.2% | 1.9% | 8.1% |
| 24 | Harrison | 29,279 | 72.2% | 11.8% | 4.8% | 9.5% |
| 25 | Mount Vernon | 72,528 | 73.7% | 13.8% | 1.3% | 10.2% |
| 26 | Coram | 41,527 | 75.5% | 11.6% | 1.6% | 7.3% |
| 27 | Ithaca | 31,792 | 76.6% | 4.7% | 9.7% | 5.0% |
| 28 | Levittown | 51,557 | 76.8% | 10.2% | 5.8% | 7.4% |
| 29 | Poughkeepsie | 31,778 | 77.6% | 17.4% | 1.0% | 11.4% |
| 30 | West Babylon | 43,239 | 78.5% | 12.7% | 2.3% | 8.0% |
| 31 | Rochester | 209,720 | 80.6% | 13.7% | 1.8% | 8.7% |
| 32 | Buffalo | 276,397 | 80.8% | 7.4% | 3.0% | 8.2% |
| 33 | Syracuse | 146,211 | 81.3% | 6.4% | 4.6% | 7.5% |
| 34 | Albany | 100,081 | 81.7% | 6.1% | 4.4% | 6.9% |
| 35 | Centereach | 31,501 | 82.0% | 7.2% | 4.7% | 6.4% |
| 36 | Oceanside | 31,907 | 82.1% | 10.4% | 1.3% | 5.4% |
| 37 | Long Beach | 34,741 | 83.6% | 7.7% | 3.0% | 5.9% |
| 38 | Brighton | 36,633 | 85.1% | 2.1% | 5.0% | 4.5% |
| 39 | Commack | 36,353 | 85.9% | 3.5% | 3.1% | 4.4% |
| 40 | Binghamton | 47,357 | 87.3% | 3.4% | 2.5% | 3.9% |
| 41 | Troy | 51,054 | 87.7% | 4.5% | 2.0% | 4.6% |
| 42 | Irondequoit | 50,438 | 88.3% | 5.1% | 1.8% | 4.1% |
| 43 | Schenectady | 68,521 | 88.3% | 6.5% | 1.0% | 4.3% |
| 44 | Cheektowaga | 76,251 | 90.0% | 2.3% | 0.9% | 3.4% |
| 45 | Saratoga Springs | 28,542 | 90.4% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.3% |
| 46 | Niagara Falls | 48,198 | 92.8% | 3.6% | 0.8% | 3.0% |
| 47 | Tonawanda Town | 56,973 | 93.5% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 2.0% |
| 48 | Rome | 31,795 | 93.8% | 3.2% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
| 49 | West Seneca | 45,329 | 94.9% | 2.0% | 0.1% | 1.2% |
| 50 | North Tonawanda | 30,338 | 95.5% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 1.4% |
This table ranks New York cities by linguistic diversity, ordered from the lowest percentage of English-only speakers to the highest. Cities at the top have the greatest share of residents who speak a language other than English at home. Spanish is the most common non-English language in most New York cities, though Asian and Pacific Island languages are also significant in many communities.