Languages Spoken in Connecticut: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across Connecticut Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 746,000 people age 5 and older in Connecticut speak a language other than English at home, representing 21.9% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 386,000 speakers, followed by Portuguese and Polish.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Connecticut
The most spoken non-English languages in Connecticut are Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish. Spanish is spoken at home by about 386,000 people, or roughly 11.3% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for Connecticut
About 746,000 people in Connecticut speak a language other than English at home, representing 21.9% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in Connecticut are Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Connecticut, with about 386,000 speakers, representing roughly 11.3% of residents age 5 and older.
Fairfield County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Connecticut, with about 135,000 speakers.
Fairfield County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 256,000 residents.
Spanish is the leading non-English language in every one of the 8 Connecticut counties, and accounts for about 52% of all residents who speak a language other than English at home.
How Language Use Varies Across Connecticut Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. With Spanish first everywhere, county-level rankings are most revealing in second and third place, where large local communities speak Polish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Chinese, French Creole, Greek, and other languages.
Fairfield County has both the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 29.0%.
English Proficiency and Language Access in Connecticut
Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.
Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve
Boostlingo helps healthcare, government, education, legal, and business organizations connect people with interpreting and translation services across hundreds of languages.
Explore Interpreter ServicesSearch or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.
| County | % Other Language | Other-Language Speakers | #1 Language | #2 Language | #3 Language | #4 Language | #5 Language | #6 Language | Population Age 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield County | 256,995 | Spanish 135,401 | Portuguese 18,803 | French Creole 11,270 | Italian 10,176 | Chinese 8,816 | Polish 7,191 | 885,470 | |
| Hartford County | 213,149 | Spanish 107,537 | Polish 18,961 | French 11,620 | Italian 7,606 | Other Asian 6,715 | Portuguese 6,420 | 848,033 | |
| New Haven County | 177,697 | Spanish 100,513 | Italian 10,376 | Chinese 7,815 | Portuguese 7,117 | French 5,745 | Polish 5,202 | 816,167 | |
| New London County | 34,139 | Spanish 15,998 | Chinese 3,876 | French 1,931 | Tagalog / Filipino 1,233 | Portuguese 1,113 | French Creole 1,060 | 259,196 | |
| Windham County | 14,702 | Spanish 9,314 | French 1,522 | Greek 462 | Portuguese 421 | Chinese 404 | Polish 363 | 111,363 | |
| Tolland County | 15,393 | Spanish 4,615 | Chinese 1,540 | Polish 1,389 | French 1,355 | Other Asian 741 | Italian 590 | 145,708 | |
| Middlesex County | 16,050 | Spanish 5,809 | Italian 1,534 | Polish 1,273 | French 952 | Portuguese 765 | Chinese 674 | 157,624 | |
| Litchfield County | 18,066 | Spanish 6,784 | Italian 1,888 | French 1,449 | Other Indo-European 1,051 | Portuguese 846 | Arabic 773 | 178,216 |
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.
The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.