After English and Spanish, Tagalog Is the Most-Widely Spoken Language in These U.S. Cities
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We already know that there is a large number of Americans of Filipino descent living in the U.S.—over four million of them to be exact. But just how big of an impact they have in America is perhaps best illustrated by this interesting fact: Tagalog is actually the most spoken language—outside of English and Spanish—in many cities in the U.S.
In fact, in at least one U.S. state—Nevada—Tagalog is the top language spoken besides English and Spanish.
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Many of the Asian diaspora in the U.S. live in the West Coast, and that includes Filipinos. According to this study, Tagalog is the most widely spoken language in the following U.S. cities in the West (again, not counting English and Spanish):
- Chula Vista, California
- Long Beach, California
- Riverside, California
- San Diego, California
- Stockton, California
- Henderson, Nevada
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Reno, Nevada
- Gilbert, Arizona
Las Vegas, in particular, is home to one of the largest Filipino-American communities in the U.S.
But Tagalog is also a top language in these cities outside of the West:
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
Although Tagalog occupies a high ranking in this list of most commonly used languages in the U.S., it’s not the top. With more than 40 million Americans self-identifying as having German ancestry, it’s no wonder that German is actually the most spoken third language in at least 13 states. These are: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and West Virginia.
Of these states, Wisconsin counts the largest population of residents who identify as German.
Broken down by regions, Vietnamese is the most-spoken language in the Southwest, French takes the top spot in the Midwest, Arabic in the Southeast, and Hindi and Bengali in the Northeast.
According to the study, while many languages across America are thriving (Spanish, for example, is projected to count 138 million speakers in the U.S. by 2050), some are on the verge of extinction. These include rare regional dialects, like the Pawpaw French in Minnesota, and indigenous languages that count just a handful of speakers, like the critically endangered Arikara language of the Arikara Native American tribe in North Dakota.
“The good news is that work is being done all across the country to keep endangered languages alive,” the study says. “One example is the Caddo language of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, which—after losing five of its seven remaining fluent speakers during the COVID-19 pandemic—is now being passed onto children in a new childcare program. Technology is also on hand to help out, with various apps on the market designed to preserve and educate people about endangered tongues the world over.”
Data in this study is based on the U.S. Census Bureau.
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