Languages Spoken in Minnesota: Map and County Data

27.4%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 560,000 people age 5 and older in Minnesota speak a language other than English at home, representing 11.0% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 194,000 speakers, followed by African languages and Hmong.

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Minnesota

The most spoken non-English languages in Minnesota are Spanish, African languages, and Hmong. Spanish is spoken at home by about 194,000 people, or roughly 3.8% of the state’s population age 5+.

#1 non-English language

Spanish

About 194,000 speakers

#2 non-English language

African languages

About 75,100 speakers

#3 non-English language

Hmong

About 58,800 speakers

Key Language Findings for Minnesota

About 560,000 people in Minnesota speak a language other than English at home, representing 11.0% of residents age 5 and older.

The most spoken non-English languages in Minnesota are Spanish, African languages, and Hmong.

Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Minnesota, with about 194,000 speakers, representing roughly 3.8% of residents age 5 and older.

Hennepin County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Minnesota, with about 64,300 speakers.

Hennepin County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 193,000 residents.

While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 15 of the 87 Minnesota counties, including Hmong in Ramsey County.

How Language Use Varies Across Minnesota Counties

Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Minnesota, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking African languages, Hmong, German, Vietnamese, other Native North American languages, Arabic, Scandinavian languages, and other languages.

Hennepin County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Nobles County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 27.4%. In Ramsey County, Hmong is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.

English Proficiency and Language Access in Minnesota

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 Minnesota 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+
Nobles County	27.4%	5,461	Spanish 3,634	Other / unspecified 559	Laotian 451	African languages 435	Other Asian 109	Hmong 106	19,896
Ramsey County	21.8%	106,666	Hmong 31,737	Spanish 24,931	African languages 14,341	Other Asian 9,026	Chinese 4,767	Vietnamese 3,202	490,155
Watonwan County	20.8%	2,142	Spanish 1,981	Laotian 70	German 57	Other Indo-European 8	Russian 6	Other Native North American 5	10,285
Hennepin County	17.3%	193,084	Spanish 64,289	African languages 34,161	Hmong 15,413	Chinese 8,866	Vietnamese 8,720	Other Asian 8,541	1,118,659
Mower County	13.0%	4,768	Spanish 3,401	German 189	African languages 186	Laotian 170	Other Asian 143	French 130	36,642
Olmsted County	12.9%	17,822	Spanish 4,527	African languages 3,551	Arabic 1,224	Chinese 1,156	Vietnamese 1,141	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 748	138,061
Dakota County	11.8%	45,125	Spanish 18,116	African languages 5,694	Vietnamese 2,886	Russian 2,098	Chinese 1,933	Other Asian 1,573	381,350
Kandiyohi County	11.3%	4,496	Spanish 3,106	African languages 806	Scandinavian 171	German 161	French 49	Laotian 27	39,671
Scott County	11.3%	14,298	Spanish 4,609	Vietnamese 1,597	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 1,108	Russian 821	Other Asian 757	African languages 729	127,028
Rice County	11.2%	6,875	Spanish 3,814	African languages 929	Chinese 387	Vietnamese 327	Other Slavic 267	German 165	61,194
Lyon County	10.9%	2,602	Spanish 1,167	African languages 441	Hmong 357	Other Asian 100	Thai 82	Serbo-Croatian 69	23,798
Anoka County	10.4%	33,113	Spanish 9,242	African languages 4,484	Hmong 3,334	Vietnamese 2,219	Arabic 1,565	Russian 1,421	317,224
Washington County	9.2%	21,168	Spanish 6,226	Hmong 3,362	African languages 2,324	Chinese 1,679	German 846	Vietnamese 844	231,328
Sibley County	9.0%	1,271	Spanish 1,008	German 183	Russian 17	African languages 14	Laotian 13	Yiddish 8	14,094
Todd County	8.4%	1,909	Spanish 985	Other West Germanic 447	German 337	Scandinavian 31	French 20	Vietnamese 14	22,788
Steele County	8.3%	2,807	Spanish 1,802	African languages 528	German 69	Japanese 67	Other Slavic 54	Hmong 53	34,007
Stearns County	8.1%	11,588	Spanish 3,236	African languages 2,823	German 1,578	Hmong 622	Arabic 481	Vietnamese 475	142,994
Carver County	8.0%	7,139	Spanish 3,743	German 532	Vietnamese 484	Laotian 263	Russian 255	Chinese 222	89,312
Waseca County	8.0%	1,430	Spanish 946	Arabic 143	African languages 101	German 62	Scandinavian 38	Russian 35	17,941
Freeborn County	7.9%	2,296	Spanish 1,622	African languages 206	Scandinavian 117	Chinese 91	German 62	Other Asian 34	29,121
Polk County	7.3%	2,163	Spanish 1,184	Russian 244	Scandinavian 119	African languages 101	German 96	Hmong 74	29,565
Cottonwood County	7.1%	775	Spanish 375	Laotian 117	German 103	Other Asian 60	Vietnamese 49	Thai 24	10,883
Winona County	7.0%	3,410	Spanish 1,333	German 453	Hmong 303	Laotian 288	Other Indic 169	Chinese 143	48,838
Chippewa County	6.6%	753	Spanish 451	German 103	Other Pacific Island 86	Scandinavian 48	Other West Germanic 15	Other Slavic 14	11,408
Cook County	6.5%	326	Spanish 88	Other Native North American 64	French 62	Scandinavian 24	Thai 23	Polish 12	5,010
Blue Earth County	6.4%	3,947	Spanish 1,250	African languages 858	Korean 257	German 181	Arabic 156	Vietnamese 132	61,416
Renville County	6.3%	899	Spanish 738	German 80	Korean 23	Scandinavian 17	Chinese 10	Hmong 9	14,294
Stevens County	6.3%	583	Spanish 404	Chinese 72	Hmong 52	African languages 15	German 13	Other West Germanic 12	9,210
Mahnomen County	5.9%	293	Other Native North American 157	Spanish 34	German 21	Other West Germanic 18	Scandinavian 16	African languages 14	4,927
Pipestone County	5.9%	514	Spanish 311	Other West Germanic 38	Other Native North American 37	African languages 27	French 24	German 23	8,758
Norman County	5.8%	364	Spanish 186	Scandinavian 62	Arabic 21	French 17	German 15	Other Pacific Island 10	6,327
Le Sueur County	5.7%	1,479	Spanish 1,162	German 87	Other Slavic 78	Korean 27	French 25	Scandinavian 18	26,062
McLeod County	5.7%	1,946	Spanish 1,490	German 176	Other Slavic 49	Chinese 42	French 25	Russian 24	33,869
Faribault County	5.6%	749	Spanish 637	German 28	Hmong 18	Hebrew 17	Vietnamese 10	Tagalog / Filipino 9	13,493
Clearwater County	5.5%	453	Spanish 111	Other West Germanic 82	German 71	Other Native North American 69	Scandinavian 46	French 17	8,184
Clay County	5.4%	3,087	Spanish 1,077	Other Indo-European 540	Arabic 232	German 231	Scandinavian 152	African languages 148	56,698
Nicollet County	5.4%	1,687	Spanish 681	African languages 244	German 189	Arabic 104	Tagalog / Filipino 100	Other Asian 74	31,072
Brown County	5.3%	1,260	Spanish 794	German 313	Vietnamese 40	Other Native North American 33	Russian 12	Chinese 10	23,946
Jackson County	5.3%	506	Spanish 195	Laotian 125	German 62	French 31	Hmong 24	Chinese 16	9,586
Marshall County	5.0%	441	Spanish 281	Polish 44	Scandinavian 34	German 23	African languages 21	French 17	8,865
Fillmore County	4.9%	962	German 503	Spanish 231	Other West Germanic 81	Scandinavian 42	Tagalog / Filipino 39	French 30	19,521
Redwood County	4.9%	721	Hmong 387	Spanish 182	German 63	Other Native North American 31	Tagalog / Filipino 13	French 12	14,750
Beltrami County	4.8%	2,021	Other Native North American 924	Spanish 373	German 258	Chinese 71	Hmong 64	French 51	41,995
Pine County	4.8%	1,315	Spanish 657	Other Native North American 222	German 156	Hmong 44	Vietnamese 33	French 27	27,673
Sherburne County	4.8%	4,051	Spanish 1,891	German 335	African languages 322	Chinese 231	Russian 217	French 163	84,216
Otter Tail County	4.6%	2,491	Spanish 1,197	German 321	African languages 237	Other / unspecified 121	Scandinavian 110	Vietnamese 90	54,212
Yellow Medicine County	4.6%	434	Spanish 270	German 25	Scandinavian 21	Arabic 19	Hmong 18	Other Native North American 17	9,511
Swift County	4.5%	403	Spanish 294	Scandinavian 75	Hmong 13	German 9	French 8	Chinese 3	8,949
Big Stone County	4.4%	210	German 121	Spanish 66	Other Indo-European 6	French 5	Scandinavian 4	Tagalog / Filipino 4	4,822
Meeker County	4.4%	956	Spanish 676	German 111	Other West Germanic 50	Other / unspecified 28	African languages 26	Tagalog / Filipino 13	21,634
St. Louis County	4.4%	8,356	Spanish 2,074	German 1,048	Other Native North American 769	Other / unspecified 739	Chinese 518	French 323	190,074
Rock County	4.2%	372	Spanish 217	Laotian 57	German 42	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 16	Other West Germanic 11	Scandinavian 11	8,951
Wadena County	4.2%	540	Other / unspecified 164	Spanish 151	German 108	French 44	African languages 19	Russian 16	12,908
Wright County	4.2%	4,989	Spanish 2,546	German 504	Russian 316	Laotian 306	Tagalog / Filipino 253	Other / unspecified 182	118,789
Murray County	4.1%	330	Spanish 200	Arabic 36	German 35	Other West Germanic 14	French 8	Scandinavian 7	8,068
Dodge County	4.0%	764	Spanish 587	German 39	Other Pacific Island 38	Japanese 18	Chinese 17	Scandinavian 15	18,917
Pennington County	4.0%	521	Spanish 168	African languages 82	Scandinavian 73	Polish 33	German 28	Vietnamese 26	13,183
Roseau County	4.0%	593	Laotian 258	Scandinavian 77	Spanish 58	Vietnamese 33	German 29	Russian 24	14,656
Goodhue County	3.9%	1,723	Spanish 1,161	German 195	Scandinavian 76	Vietnamese 51	Other Native North American 40	French 39	43,693
Martin County	3.9%	744	Spanish 574	Chinese 72	German 25	Scandinavian 16	Other Native North American 11	Thai 9	19,285
Becker County	3.8%	1,179	German 299	Spanish 242	Other Native North American 129	Other / unspecified 82	Portuguese 77	Other West Germanic 46	31,019
Carlton County	3.7%	1,246	Spanish 306	Other / unspecified 246	Other Native North American 220	German 156	Chinese 113	Polish 33	33,428
Koochiching County	3.6%	442	Other Slavic 87	Spanish 76	Other Native North American 67	German 55	Russian 32	Scandinavian 29	12,450
Red Lake County	3.5%	133	Spanish 74	French 10	Scandinavian 10	Other Native North American 10	Other Slavic 6	Laotian 6	3,769
Benton County	3.4%	1,232	Spanish 444	African languages 222	German 106	French 81	Korean 71	Laotian 32	36,435
Cass County	3.4%	906	Other Native North American 415	Spanish 237	German 71	Hmong 34	Scandinavian 27	French 25	26,917
Chisago County	3.2%	1,618	Spanish 848	German 125	Scandinavian 124	French 73	Hmong 51	Chinese 49	50,890
Traverse County	3.2%	106	Spanish 71	Other Native North American 23	German 5	Russian 5	Scandinavian 2	—	3,290
Morrison County	2.9%	884	Spanish 378	German 201	Polish 103	Hmong 56	Tagalog / Filipino 48	French 24	30,862
Douglas County	2.8%	983	Spanish 438	German 140	Scandinavian 79	Other West Germanic 66	Other / unspecified 65	French 46	34,649
Kittson County	2.8%	119	Spanish 61	Scandinavian 15	French 10	Polish 9	Russian 8	Other West Germanic 7	4,244
Mille Lacs County	2.8%	677	Other Native North American 226	Spanish 175	German 131	African languages 26	Other West Germanic 24	Serbo-Croatian 20	24,166
Lac qui Parle County	2.7%	180	Spanish 74	Scandinavian 43	German 20	Tagalog / Filipino 19	Russian 8	Japanese 8	6,659
Grant County	2.5%	142	Spanish 73	German 25	Scandinavian 17	Portuguese 6	Korean 6	Italian 5	5,589
Hubbard County	2.5%	479	Spanish 185	German 54	French 46	Other Asian 37	Scandinavian 21	Portuguese 20	19,396
Wabasha County	2.5%	504	Spanish 334	German 47	Scandinavian 26	Polish 19	Chinese 18	Hmong 17	20,165
Aitkin County	2.2%	337	Spanish 86	Other Native North American 70	Other / unspecified 41	German 39	Serbo-Croatian 19	Scandinavian 18	15,192
Isanti County	2.2%	788	German 218	Spanish 208	French 63	Other Native North American 56	Scandinavian 36	Russian 32	35,843
Wilkin County	2.2%	135	Spanish 59	German 20	Vietnamese 15	Other Indo-European 14	French 12	Scandinavian 8	6,125
Crow Wing County	2.1%	1,238	Spanish 328	German 238	French 150	Scandinavian 110	African languages 66	Other Pacific Island 61	59,318
Houston County	2.1%	369	Spanish 121	German 61	Scandinavian 58	French 43	Chinese 20	Other Native North American 16	17,862
Itasca County	2.1%	898	Spanish 290	Other Native North American 149	Other / unspecified 102	French 100	German 70	Hmong 27	42,980
Kanabec County	2.1%	323	German 95	Spanish 69	Other West Germanic 31	Tagalog / Filipino 30	Hindi 16	Scandinavian 15	15,203
Pope County	2.1%	219	Spanish 64	Scandinavian 59	German 37	Other Slavic 15	Other West Germanic 11	Polish 11	10,288
Lake County	2.0%	205	Spanish 65	Other / unspecified 35	Chinese 18	Scandinavian 15	Other Slavic 14	German 13	10,170
Lincoln County	1.9%	105	Spanish 57	Polish 17	Scandinavian 15	Tagalog / Filipino 5	German 3	French 2	5,470
Lake of the Woods County	1.1%	43	Other Asian 21	Spanish 18	Other Slavic 3	Russian 1	—	—	3,765

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 Minnesota: Map and County Data

Languages Spoken Across Minnesota Counties

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Minnesota

Key Language Findings for Minnesota

How Language Use Varies Across Minnesota Counties

English Proficiency and Language Access in Minnesota

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About the Data

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