Languages Spoken in Delaware: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across Delaware Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 112,000 people age 5 and older in Delaware speak a language other than English at home, representing 12.9% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 59,800 speakers, followed by Chinese and other Asian languages.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Delaware
The most spoken non-English languages in Delaware are Spanish, Chinese, and other Asian languages. Spanish is spoken at home by about 59,800 people, or roughly 6.9% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for Delaware
About 112,000 people in Delaware speak a language other than English at home, representing 12.9% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in Delaware are Spanish, Chinese, and other Asian languages.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Delaware, with about 59,800 speakers, representing roughly 6.9% of residents age 5 and older.
New Castle County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Delaware, with about 38,600 speakers.
New Castle County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 77,600 residents.
Spanish is the leading non-English language in every one of the 3 Delaware counties, and accounts for about 53% of all residents who speak a language other than English at home.
How Language Use Varies Across Delaware 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 Chinese, other Asian languages, French Creole, other West Germanic languages, French, and other languages.
New Castle 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 15.0%.
English Proficiency and Language Access in Delaware
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+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County | 77,679 | Spanish 38,630 | Chinese 5,762 | Other Asian 4,639 | African languages 4,118 | French 2,843 | Other Indic 2,118 | 516,419 | |
| Sussex County | 20,081 | Spanish 14,709 | French Creole 1,133 | French 585 | Tagalog / Filipino 442 | Russian 394 | Vietnamese 372 | 195,756 | |
| Kent County | 14,489 | Spanish 6,475 | Other West Germanic 1,046 | French Creole 828 | German 823 | Tagalog / Filipino 643 | African languages 623 | 158,467 |
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.