Languages Spoken in Nebraska: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across Nebraska Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 188,000 people age 5 and older in Nebraska speak a language other than English at home, representing 10.8% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 125,000 speakers, followed by Vietnamese and other Asian languages.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Nebraska
The most spoken non-English languages in Nebraska are Spanish, Vietnamese, and other Asian languages. Spanish is spoken at home by about 125,000 people, or roughly 7.2% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for Nebraska
About 188,000 people in Nebraska speak a language other than English at home, representing 10.8% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in Nebraska are Spanish, Vietnamese, and other Asian languages.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Nebraska, with about 125,000 speakers, representing roughly 7.2% of residents age 5 and older.
Douglas County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Nebraska, with about 45,000 speakers.
Douglas County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 71,100 residents.
While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 10 of the 93 Nebraska counties, including other Pacific Island languages in Dawes County.
How Language Use Varies Across Nebraska Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Nebraska, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking Vietnamese, African languages, other Asian languages, Arabic, German, other Slavic languages, Chinese, and other languages.
Douglas County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Colfax County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 41.7%. In Dawes County, other Pacific Island languages are the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.
English Proficiency and Language Access in Nebraska
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+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax County | 4,007 | Spanish 3,753 | Other Slavic 80 | Other / unspecified 61 | African languages 59 | Other Pacific Island 16 | German 14 | 9,613 | |
| Dakota County | 7,216 | Spanish 6,151 | African languages 432 | Vietnamese 175 | Laotian 134 | Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 64 | Other Pacific Island 53 | 19,068 | |
| Dawson County | 7,151 | Spanish 6,252 | African languages 766 | Other Slavic 46 | Korean 25 | French 24 | German 22 | 22,256 | |
| Saline County | 2,927 | Spanish 2,386 | Laotian 202 | Vietnamese 171 | Other Slavic 94 | German 53 | Other Asian 8 | 13,399 | |
| Hall County | 11,705 | Spanish 10,264 | African languages 375 | Laotian 221 | Arabic 177 | German 140 | Other / unspecified 124 | 56,074 | |
| Platte County | 4,456 | Spanish 4,091 | Chinese 96 | Polish 94 | German 52 | Other Pacific Island 31 | Other Slavic 26 | 30,262 | |
| Douglas County | 71,196 | Spanish 45,030 | Other Asian 4,548 | African languages 3,027 | French 2,868 | Chinese 1,755 | Other Indic 1,672 | 496,591 | |
| Scotts Bluff County | 4,241 | Spanish 3,757 | German 112 | Portuguese 91 | Other Native North American 58 | Chinese 56 | Korean 39 | 34,216 | |
| Madison County | 3,902 | Spanish 3,477 | Thai 182 | German 66 | Arabic 59 | Chinese 39 | Other Slavic 21 | 32,536 | |
| Lancaster County | 30,909 | Spanish 11,892 | Vietnamese 5,086 | Arabic 2,200 | Chinese 1,907 | Other Asian 1,143 | Other Indo-European 993 | 277,740 | |
| Chase County | 354 | Spanish 354 | — | — | — | — | — | 3,670 | |
| Dodge County | 3,299 | Spanish 2,920 | Japanese 96 | German 56 | Vietnamese 52 | Other Pacific Island 40 | Other Slavic 38 | 34,412 | |
| Dundy County | 174 | Spanish 165 | German 8 | French 1 | — | — | — | 1,904 | |
| Dixon County | 492 | Spanish 446 | Other Slavic 14 | German 10 | French 6 | Other Indo-European 6 | Other Pacific Island 5 | 5,497 | |
| Morrill County | 409 | Spanish 384 | Tagalog / Filipino 11 | German 9 | Other / unspecified 2 | Greek 1 | Thai 1 | 4,612 | |
| Johnson County | 425 | Spanish 353 | Laotian 26 | German 23 | Other Slavic 8 | Tagalog / Filipino 6 | Other Asian 5 | 4,906 | |
| Cuming County | 736 | Spanish 656 | Japanese 33 | German 17 | Other Indic 13 | Greek 8 | Tagalog / Filipino 5 | 8,561 | |
| Clay County | 503 | Spanish 391 | German 83 | Polish 17 | Vietnamese 12 | — | — | 5,982 | |
| Sarpy County | 13,079 | Spanish 8,070 | Vietnamese 932 | German 415 | Tagalog / Filipino 352 | Arabic 348 | Korean 288 | 155,802 | |
| Adams County | 2,259 | Spanish 1,781 | Vietnamese 225 | German 57 | French 32 | Serbo-Croatian 25 | Other Indo-European 25 | 29,388 | |
| Buffalo County | 3,376 | Spanish 2,291 | French 151 | Chinese 141 | German 111 | Korean 86 | Other Asian 70 | 44,652 | |
| Deuel County | 136 | Spanish 122 | German 8 | Other Indo-European 3 | Tagalog / Filipino 2 | African languages 1 | — | 1,869 | |
| Kimball County | 230 | Spanish 175 | Other Indo-European 31 | German 15 | Russian 4 | Other Slavic 3 | Italian 2 | 3,455 | |
| Otoe County | 989 | Spanish 848 | Chinese 40 | German 39 | Gujarati 22 | Persian 11 | French 10 | 14,864 | |
| Hayes County | 66 | Spanish 66 | — | — | — | — | — | 1,049 | |
| Dawes County | 516 | Other Pacific Island 153 | Spanish 126 | Chinese 71 | Thai 32 | Hebrew 30 | Other Asian 23 | 8,651 | |
| Thurston County | 377 | Other Native North American 170 | Spanish 164 | Other Asian 11 | French 10 | Other Slavic 4 | Vietnamese 4 | 6,272 | |
| Polk County | 268 | Spanish 207 | German 16 | Other / unspecified 15 | French 8 | Chinese 5 | Tagalog / Filipino 4 | 4,988 | |
| Butler County | 387 | Spanish 210 | Other Slavic 108 | Tagalog / Filipino 28 | African languages 16 | French 10 | Other Native North American 7 | 7,773 | |
| Cheyenne County | 465 | Spanish 300 | Thai 89 | German 22 | French 17 | Russian 16 | Other Slavic 11 | 9,422 | |
| Keith County | 383 | Spanish 258 | French 42 | Korean 24 | German 21 | African languages 19 | Hindi 8 | 7,799 | |
| Wayne County | 436 | Spanish 367 | Scandinavian 28 | African languages 21 | German 10 | French 9 | Thai 1 | 8,935 | |
| Pawnee County | 124 | German 97 | Spanish 25 | Italian 1 | Other Slavic 1 | — | — | 2,583 | |
| Holt County | 457 | Spanish 329 | German 80 | Tagalog / Filipino 27 | Portuguese 6 | Other Slavic 6 | Scandinavian 2 | 9,725 | |
| Kearney County | 286 | Spanish 275 | German 9 | Tagalog / Filipino 2 | — | — | — | 6,187 | |
| Knox County | 371 | Spanish 119 | Other Native North American 90 | German 59 | Other West Germanic 46 | Other Slavic 17 | Other Asian 11 | 8,022 | |
| Stanton County | 263 | Spanish 206 | Arabic 32 | Other / unspecified 7 | African languages 5 | Other West Germanic 4 | French 3 | 5,677 | |
| Fillmore County | 242 | Spanish 162 | Other Slavic 45 | German 23 | French 5 | African languages 5 | Scandinavian 1 | 5,435 | |
| York County | 586 | Spanish 433 | German 104 | Other Pacific Island 25 | African languages 7 | Hindi 5 | French 4 | 12,929 | |
| Thomas County | 28 | Chinese 15 | Spanish 6 | Scandinavian 4 | German 3 | — | — | 649 | |
| Phelps County | 363 | Spanish 287 | Other West Germanic 27 | French 19 | Portuguese 8 | Scandinavian 7 | Hindi 5 | 8,584 | |
| Box Butte County | 433 | Spanish 375 | Chinese 21 | German 18 | Other Native North American 7 | Vietnamese 6 | French 5 | 10,611 | |
| Sheridan County | 205 | Spanish 127 | Other Native North American 42 | Tagalog / Filipino 19 | German 9 | Other Indic 3 | Korean 3 | 5,057 | |
| Antelope County | 217 | Spanish 164 | Other West Germanic 31 | German 10 | Italian 5 | Russian 3 | Other Asian 2 | 6,072 | |
| Merrick County | 261 | Spanish 192 | German 44 | Polish 13 | French 7 | Russian 3 | Japanese 2 | 7,342 | |
| Saunders County | 701 | Spanish 384 | Other Slavic 186 | Chinese 38 | Tagalog / Filipino 28 | Russian 16 | Other Pacific Island 13 | 19,601 | |
| Cherry County | 180 | Spanish 167 | Tagalog / Filipino 11 | Other Native North American 2 | — | — | — | 5,419 | |
| Lincoln County | 1,120 | Spanish 848 | Chinese 80 | African languages 66 | Portuguese 19 | German 18 | Other Slavic 17 | 33,626 | |
| Nemaha County | 226 | Spanish 126 | Tagalog / Filipino 27 | Other Native North American 27 | Other West Germanic 26 | German 10 | Russian 7 | 6,763 | |
| Nuckolls County | 139 | Spanish 62 | Tagalog / Filipino 27 | German 23 | Russian 7 | Hindi 6 | Other Asian 6 | 4,172 | |
| Custer County | 329 | Spanish 235 | Other Slavic 45 | German 42 | French 4 | Arabic 2 | Other Asian 1 | 10,144 | |
| Seward County | 514 | Spanish 297 | Other Slavic 45 | Chinese 36 | French 32 | German 25 | Arabic 23 | 15,979 | |
| Sherman County | 94 | Spanish 48 | Polish 39 | Laotian 3 | Vietnamese 3 | Other Native North American 1 | — | 2,943 | |
| Gage County | 589 | Spanish 282 | German 152 | Other Asian 51 | Other Slavic 31 | French 21 | Tagalog / Filipino 19 | 20,602 | |
| Hitchcock County | 79 | Spanish 66 | German 10 | Polish 3 | — | — | — | 2,705 | |
| Perkins County | 80 | Spanish 66 | German 7 | French 4 | Italian 3 | — | — | 2,745 | |
| Boone County | 144 | Spanish 93 | German 20 | Other Slavic 13 | Vietnamese 4 | French 3 | Scandinavian 3 | 5,057 | |
| Burt County | 173 | Spanish 118 | German 10 | Scandinavian 9 | Tagalog / Filipino 9 | Other Native North American 9 | Polish 8 | 6,296 | |
| Cass County | 656 | Spanish 453 | German 49 | Korean 35 | Russian 23 | Other Asian 21 | French 19 | 23,864 | |
| Red Willow County | 278 | Spanish 227 | German 21 | Scandinavian 13 | Arabic 10 | Chinese 5 | Other / unspecified 2 | 10,311 | |
| Jefferson County | 185 | Spanish 131 | German 23 | Other Slavic 12 | French 8 | Laotian 8 | Italian 3 | 7,040 | |
| Furnas County | 115 | Spanish 74 | German 20 | French 10 | Scandinavian 4 | Chinese 4 | Other Slavic 3 | 4,655 | |
| Valley County | 99 | Other Slavic 42 | Spanish 32 | Japanese 15 | French 10 | — | — | 3,990 | |
| Thayer County | 113 | Spanish 93 | German 11 | Arabic 4 | Other West Germanic 3 | Other Slavic 2 | — | 4,898 | |
| Hamilton County | 192 | Spanish 160 | German 29 | French 3 | — | — | — | 8,624 | |
| Nance County | 76 | Polish 37 | German 23 | Spanish 13 | Other West Germanic 3 | — | — | 3,425 | |
| Banner County | 16 | Spanish 8 | German 5 | French 3 | — | — | — | 775 | |
| Franklin County | 63 | Spanish 43 | German 11 | French 2 | Scandinavian 2 | Tagalog / Filipino 2 | Chinese 1 | 2,955 | |
| Howard County | 124 | German 35 | Spanish 32 | Other Slavic 20 | Japanese 17 | Tagalog / Filipino 6 | Italian 5 | 5,955 | |
| Webster County | 72 | Spanish 30 | Laotian 21 | Hindi 14 | German 3 | Scandinavian 2 | Tagalog / Filipino 2 | 3,497 | |
| Keya Paha County | 14 | Spanish 7 | German 4 | Japanese 3 | — | — | — | 687 | |
| Pierce County | 136 | Spanish 70 | German 34 | Tagalog / Filipino 11 | Hindi 7 | Russian 5 | French 3 | 6,750 | |
| Washington County | 380 | Spanish 295 | Other Native North American 26 | Japanese 25 | German 10 | Polish 10 | French 7 | 19,144 | |
| Richardson County | 146 | Spanish 82 | German 18 | Korean 11 | Arabic 8 | Italian 7 | Other West Germanic 7 | 7,807 | |
| Harlan County | 55 | Spanish 34 | Other West Germanic 10 | German 5 | Polish 4 | Other Slavic 2 | — | 3,244 | |
| Frontier County | 39 | Spanish 19 | Arabic 8 | German 4 | Other Slavic 4 | Korean 4 | — | 2,439 | |
| Cedar County | 120 | Spanish 87 | German 17 | French 11 | Chinese 3 | Italian 2 | — | 8,166 | |
| Gosper County | 27 | Spanish 25 | German 2 | — | — | — | — | 1,870 | |
| Hooker County | 9 | Spanish 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 649 | |
| Brown County | 31 | Italian 19 | Spanish 11 | French 1 | — | — | — | 2,919 | |
| Blaine County | 5 | Spanish 3 | Other Pacific Island 2 | — | — | — | — | 507 | |
| Boyd County | 19 | German 7 | French 4 | Spanish 3 | Other Slavic 3 | Other Indic 2 | — | 1,916 | |
| Garfield County | 17 | Spanish 9 | Other Slavic 5 | Italian 3 | — | — | — | 1,849 | |
| Greeley County | 20 | Spanish 19 | Other Pacific Island 1 | — | — | — | — | 2,341 | |
| Sioux County | 10 | Spanish 10 | — | — | — | — | — | 1,170 | |
| Garden County | 13 | German 5 | Spanish 4 | Other Slavic 3 | French 1 | — | — | 1,726 | |
| McPherson County | 3 | Spanish 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 401 | |
| Arthur County | 2 | Spanish 1 | German 1 | — | — | — | — | 414 | |
| Logan County | 4 | Spanish 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 790 | |
| Rock County | 7 | Spanish 7 | — | — | — | — | — | 1,360 | |
| Loup County | 2 | Spanish 1 | Scandinavian 1 | — | — | — | — | 509 | |
| Wheeler County | 2 | Spanish 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 819 | |
| Grant County | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 720 |
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.