Languages Spoken in Michigan: Map and County Data

14.5%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 860,000 people age 5 and older in Michigan speak a language other than English at home, representing 9.2% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 272,000 speakers, followed by Arabic and Chinese.

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Michigan

The most spoken non-English languages in Michigan are Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Spanish is spoken at home by about 272,000 people, or roughly 2.9% of the state’s population age 5+.

#1 non-English language

Spanish

About 272,000 speakers

#2 non-English language

Arabic

About 122,000 speakers

#3 non-English language

Chinese

About 44,800 speakers

Key Language Findings for Michigan

About 860,000 people in Michigan speak a language other than English at home, representing 9.2% of residents age 5 and older.

The most spoken non-English languages in Michigan are Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese.

Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Michigan, with about 272,000 speakers, representing roughly 2.9% of residents age 5 and older.

Wayne County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Michigan, with about 67,600 speakers.

Wayne County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 220,000 residents.

While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 19 of the 83 Michigan counties, including Arabic in Wayne County.

How Language Use Varies Across Michigan Counties

Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Michigan, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking Arabic, Chinese, German, other and unspecified languages, other Asian languages, other Indic languages, other Indo-European languages, and other languages.

Wayne County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Washtenaw County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 14.5%. In Wayne County, Arabic is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.

English Proficiency and Language Access in Michigan

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.

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Most Spoken Languages in Michigan by County

Search 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+
Washtenaw County	14.5%	48,772	Chinese 9,444	Spanish 9,380	Arabic 3,832	Korean 3,739	German 2,062	Japanese 2,040	335,381
Oakland County	14.4%	167,036	Spanish 28,638	Arabic 18,582	Other Asian 12,455	Chinese 12,296	Other / unspecified 10,963	Other Indo-European 9,926	1,161,352
Macomb County	13.6%	109,620	Arabic 15,965	Other / unspecified 13,925	Other Indo-European 11,832	Spanish 10,505	Italian 7,989	Polish 7,243	807,580
Wayne County	13.3%	220,633	Arabic 71,107	Spanish 67,648	Other Indic 12,629	Other Indo-European 5,921	Chinese 5,648	Polish 4,966	1,663,012
Kent County	12.0%	69,557	Spanish 41,704	Vietnamese 4,373	Serbo-Croatian 4,002	Chinese 2,387	African languages 2,082	Other Indic 1,414	578,542
Ingham County	11.9%	31,889	Spanish 9,651	Chinese 4,613	Arabic 2,550	Other Indic 1,615	Other Asian 1,573	Korean 1,466	267,539
Oceana County	11.8%	2,904	Spanish 2,643	Other West Germanic 75	German 64	Other Indo-European 23	French 20	Portuguese 20	24,605
Ottawa County	9.4%	24,053	Spanish 16,037	Laotian 1,048	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 904	Vietnamese 869	German 748	Chinese 614	255,499
St. Joseph County	9.1%	5,155	Spanish 3,271	Other West Germanic 855	German 535	French 66	Other Indo-European 56	Tagalog / Filipino 53	56,904
Van Buren County	9.0%	6,321	Spanish 5,422	German 175	Polish 114	Other Asian 113	French 72	Other Indo-European 72	70,623
Branch County	8.4%	3,424	Spanish 1,605	German 892	Arabic 289	Other Indic 149	French 82	Tagalog / Filipino 70	40,887
Berrien County	7.8%	11,321	Spanish 5,385	German 937	African languages 622	Korean 569	French 389	Portuguese 368	146,031
Oscoda County	7.3%	589	Other West Germanic 306	German 121	Arabic 67	Spanish 52	Scandinavian 10	Italian 7	8,067
Kalamazoo County	7.0%	16,976	Spanish 7,234	Arabic 1,344	Chinese 1,039	French 879	African languages 810	German 713	241,312
Eaton County	6.5%	6,681	Spanish 3,038	Other Asian 433	Arabic 363	German 340	French 320	Vietnamese 247	102,406
Houghton County	6.3%	2,192	Chinese 450	Other / unspecified 306	Spanish 283	Hindi 222	German 176	Arabic 134	34,671
Isabella County	5.7%	3,842	German 793	Spanish 628	Arabic 488	Chinese 296	Other Native North American 276	French 173	67,335
Calhoun County	5.6%	7,053	Spanish 3,520	Other Asian 884	German 451	Chinese 450	Tagalog / Filipino 354	Japanese 303	126,537
Allegan County	5.5%	5,875	Spanish 4,374	German 401	Other West Germanic 203	Hmong 80	Other Indo-European 74	Vietnamese 74	105,921
Leelanau County	5.3%	1,107	Spanish 554	Other Indo-European 131	German 111	Urdu 38	Other Native North American 38	Korean 36	20,959
Saginaw County	5.1%	9,496	Spanish 4,973	German 925	Arabic 484	Chinese 460	Vietnamese 374	Other Asian 289	185,106
Midland County	4.8%	3,799	Spanish 907	Chinese 488	Korean 421	German 325	Other Indic 221	Tagalog / Filipino 220	79,249
Clinton County	4.7%	3,411	Spanish 1,711	Chinese 335	German 293	Arabic 183	Korean 170	Hmong 98	72,676
Gladwin County	4.7%	1,148	German 774	Other West Germanic 155	Spanish 117	Chinese 23	French 20	Vietnamese 20	24,301
Hillsdale County	4.7%	2,054	German 1,356	Spanish 394	French 53	Tagalog / Filipino 43	Other West Germanic 33	Polish 28	43,543
Clare County	4.6%	1,332	German 368	Other West Germanic 367	Spanish 270	Arabic 128	Italian 28	Japanese 25	29,046
Lenawee County	4.6%	4,312	Spanish 3,178	German 295	Arabic 190	Russian 116	French 61	Italian 44	93,437
Lapeer County	4.5%	3,754	Spanish 2,375	German 328	Other Indo-European 232	Vietnamese 130	Japanese 86	Polish 80	83,893
Sanilac County	4.5%	1,793	Spanish 570	German 508	Other West Germanic 342	Chinese 93	Polish 56	French 55	39,742
Manistee County	4.4%	1,025	Spanish 493	German 116	French 87	Other West Germanic 77	Polish 60	Vietnamese 54	23,550
Mecosta County	4.4%	1,800	Spanish 393	Arabic 335	Other West Germanic 265	German 182	Vietnamese 95	Chinese 75	41,208
Benzie County	4.3%	712	Spanish 344	German 158	Russian 49	French 45	Polish 18	Scandinavian 14	16,672
Chippewa County	4.3%	1,556	Spanish 408	Other Native North American 398	French 79	German 79	Arabic 77	Urdu 74	36,504
Grand Traverse County	4.3%	3,639	Spanish 1,692	German 310	French 244	Other Native North American 232	Other Slavic 185	Russian 172	84,904
Newaygo County	4.3%	1,959	Spanish 1,462	Other West Germanic 156	German 148	French 44	Arabic 37	Hindi 23	45,212
Mackinac County	4.2%	448	Other West Germanic 115	Spanish 81	French 63	Other Native North American 50	German 34	Portuguese 17	10,582
Mason County	4.1%	1,109	Spanish 625	German 105	Italian 78	Other Slavic 63	Other West Germanic 42	Gujarati 36	27,172
Osceola County	4.0%	879	German 346	Other West Germanic 216	Spanish 175	Scandinavian 23	French 21	Japanese 16	21,900
Gogebic County	3.8%	574	Other / unspecified 124	Spanish 95	German 73	French 68	Other Native North American 31	Arabic 27	15,206
St. Clair County	3.8%	5,756	Spanish 2,839	German 459	French 449	Arabic 387	Polish 215	Serbo-Croatian 138	152,036
Marquette County	3.7%	2,376	Spanish 592	Other / unspecified 574	French 167	Chinese 146	German 121	Other Native North American 121	64,231
Missaukee County	3.7%	518	Spanish 241	German 132	Other West Germanic 62	Other Indic 43	Russian 15	Italian 7	14,076
Muskegon County	3.7%	5,881	Spanish 3,567	French 339	Other West Germanic 303	German 258	Chinese 195	Other Indo-European 149	160,798
Ontonagon County	3.7%	225	Other / unspecified 101	Spanish 34	Portuguese 27	French 15	Arabic 14	Vietnamese 9	6,136
Gratiot County	3.6%	1,431	Spanish 969	German 87	Chinese 81	Scandinavian 44	Arabic 35	Other West Germanic 27	39,722
Presque Isle County	3.6%	454	Polish 183	German 125	Spanish 69	French 17	Tagalog / Filipino 17	Italian 10	12,565
Genesee County	3.5%	13,558	Spanish 4,356	Arabic 2,281	Chinese 1,039	French 864	German 690	Urdu 377	390,375
Schoolcraft County	3.5%	274	Spanish 51	Other Indic 51	Polish 35	German 30	Gujarati 30	Other Native North American 19	7,922
Baraga County	3.4%	283	Other / unspecified 74	Spanish 70	German 27	Other Native North American 22	Other Indo-European 18	French 14	8,278
Iron County	3.3%	365	Spanish 80	Arabic 66	Italian 40	Other / unspecified 32	German 27	French 24	11,032
Livingston County	3.3%	5,861	Spanish 2,460	German 430	Other Indo-European 380	Polish 311	Chinese 295	Arabic 240	175,160
Montcalm County	3.3%	1,984	Spanish 851	German 289	Other West Germanic 287	Other Asian 47	Vietnamese 45	Tagalog / Filipino 42	59,389
Tuscola County	3.3%	1,696	Spanish 762	German 371	Other Indo-European 100	Other West Germanic 87	French 63	Arabic 61	51,645
Cass County	3.2%	1,601	Spanish 696	German 202	French 98	Korean 92	Arabic 78	Polish 72	49,409
Jackson County	3.2%	4,759	Spanish 2,648	German 373	French 282	Chinese 228	Polish 170	Gujarati 117	150,782
Monroe County	3.2%	4,502	Spanish 2,022	French 351	Arabic 328	German 277	Italian 252	Chinese 218	142,120
Alpena County	3.1%	862	Spanish 352	German 128	Chinese 98	Other West Germanic 74	Polish 69	French 32	27,694
Luce County	3.1%	195	Spanish 84	French 23	German 23	Other Slavic 15	Other Native North American 13	Arabic 12	6,195
Charlevoix County	3.0%	747	Spanish 331	German 87	Portuguese 37	Other Native North American 37	French 32	Russian 32	24,878
Antrim County	2.9%	640	Spanish 289	German 117	French 67	Chinese 29	Japanese 25	Other / unspecified 23	22,256
Ionia County	2.9%	1,747	Spanish 1,141	German 157	Other West Germanic 116	Other Native North American 39	French 38	Arabic 38	60,259
Huron County	2.8%	852	Spanish 280	German 167	Polish 112	Other West Germanic 73	Tagalog / Filipino 59	French 35	30,735
Wexford County	2.8%	860	German 280	Spanish 182	Tagalog / Filipino 89	Other West Germanic 70	Arabic 69	Gujarati 32	30,659
Bay County	2.7%	2,714	Spanish 1,373	Polish 225	German 213	Hebrew 106	Chinese 103	French 99	101,026
Emmet County	2.7%	849	Spanish 269	German 147	Other Native North American 98	French 82	Tagalog / Filipino 41	Chinese 35	31,427
Iosco County	2.7%	658	Spanish 226	German 129	Tagalog / Filipino 84	Other West Germanic 35	Other Indo-European 32	French 29	24,346
Barry County	2.6%	1,480	Spanish 834	German 246	Chinese 146	Other West Germanic 98	Italian 40	Tagalog / Filipino 29	55,941
Kalkaska County	2.5%	410	Spanish 319	German 20	Japanese 15	Tagalog / Filipino 12	Other Indo-European 9	Other West Germanic 6	16,291
Otsego County	2.4%	539	Polish 145	Chinese 93	Spanish 77	French 45	Other West Germanic 42	Portuguese 29	22,787
Alcona County	2.3%	236	German 74	Spanish 59	Polish 24	French 23	Tagalog / Filipino 9	Chinese 8	10,227
Arenac County	2.2%	326	Spanish 139	German 36	Polish 20	Other Slavic 20	Other / unspecified 19	Other Native North American 18	14,783
Cheboygan County	2.2%	549	Spanish 245	German 83	Italian 44	Tagalog / Filipino 37	Polish 35	Other / unspecified 27	24,677
Menominee County	2.2%	492	Spanish 131	Other Native North American 77	Polish 57	Other West Germanic 46	Tagalog / Filipino 38	Other Slavic 27	22,661
Montmorency County	2.2%	196	Spanish 108	German 43	Arabic 13	Other West Germanic 12	Scandinavian 9	Polish 5	9,066
Shiawassee County	2.2%	1,438	Spanish 777	German 103	Hungarian 78	French 76	Urdu 47	Other Slavic 42	65,550
Delta County	2.1%	714	Spanish 241	Arabic 142	Other / unspecified 64	German 48	French 35	Serbo-Croatian 27	34,815
Lake County	2.1%	227	Spanish 115	German 57	Serbo-Croatian 13	Other West Germanic 12	French 10	Polish 8	10,987
Alger County	2.0%	179	Other / unspecified 50	Spanish 40	German 19	Arabic 18	French 15	Other Slavic 12	9,156
Dickinson County	2.0%	492	Spanish 97	Scandinavian 70	French 49	German 48	Urdu 42	Chinese 42	24,744
Ogemaw County	1.9%	393	Spanish 133	German 38	Other Asian 37	Other West Germanic 30	Polish 29	Italian 25	20,231
Crawford County	1.8%	234	Spanish 81	Korean 40	German 23	French 20	Chinese 13	Other Indo-European 12	13,344
Keweenaw County	1.5%	32	Spanish 12	Other / unspecified 6	African languages 5	Italian 3	Persian 3	Polish 2	2,111
Roscommon County	1.5%	346	Spanish 117	German 47	Polish 32	Chinese 25	French 23	Other West Germanic 21	23,197

No counties found.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, Table B16001 · Population age 5 and over

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.

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Languages Spoken in Michigan: Map and County Data

Languages Spoken Across Michigan Counties

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Michigan

Key Language Findings for Michigan

How Language Use Varies Across Michigan Counties

English Proficiency and Language Access in Michigan

Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve

About the Data

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