Top 10 Languages

Residents across King County bring an incredible diversity of languages into their homes and communities.. Overall, nearly one-third of King County residents speak a language other than English at home (30.1%). Spanish is the most commonly spoken language after English, with an estimated 163,000 King County residents speaking primarily Spanish at home. There are also 125,000 King County residents who speak Chinese at home. Rounding out the most commonly spoken languages are Vietnamese (45,000 residents); Hindi (40,000); Korean (29,000); Russian (28,000); Afro-Asiatic languages including Amharic and Somali (28,000); Tagalog including Filipino (28,000); Ukrainian or other Slavic languages (21,000); and Persian including Farsi & Dari (17,000).   

The most common languages spoken at home vary by region within King County. For example, in South King County, Arabic – spoken by approximately 8,700 South King County residents – is among the top ten languages, while in Seattle, Austronesian languages (including Ilocano, Samoan, and Hawaiian) are spoken by about 8,400 residents and are ranked 9th. In East King County, Tamil is spoken by approximately 9,400 residents and ranks 6th among the top languages, and Indic languages (including Nepali and Marathi), with 4,800 speakers are 10th.  

The U.S. Census Bureau also uses geographic areas called PUMAs, or Public Use Microdata Areas, which group cities and other unincorporated areas and are smaller than the four major King County regions. Looking at the top 10 languages after English by PUMA can help identify smaller language communities, such as approximately 1,200 people that speak Uzbek in the Renton/Fairwood/Skyway/Bryn Mawr area. Across King County, other languages that appear in the top 10 after English for at least one PUMA include: Dravidian languages (such as Malayalam and Kannada); French; German; Gujarati; Hebrew;  Italian; Japanese; Oromo; other Niger-Congo languages; Portuguese; Punjabi; Scandinavian languages; Serbo-Croatian; Swahili and other languages of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Telugu; Thai, Lao, and other Tai-Kadai languages; Urdu; Yoruba, Twi, Igbo and other West African languages; and Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch, or other West Germanic languages. 

Many King County residents are fluent in multiple languages. While 30.1% speak a language other than English at home, 11.0% speak English less than “very well.” Ensuring language access for all King County residents is essential so that community members can access information and resources regardless of their English proficiency.  

Notes & Sources

Source: American Community Survey (ACS). 

To learn more about the American Community Survey and view the data biography, click here.