Languages Spoken in North Carolina: Map and County Data

19.4%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 1.0 million people age 5 and older in North Carolina speak a language other than English at home, representing 11.2% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 685,000 speakers, followed by Chinese and other Asian languages.

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in North Carolina

The most spoken non-English languages in North Carolina are Spanish, Chinese, and other Asian languages. Spanish is spoken at home by about 685,000 people, or roughly 7.4% of the state’s population age 5+.

#1 non-English language

Spanish

About 685,000 speakers

#2 non-English language

Chinese

About 33,100 speakers

#3 non-English language

Other Asian languages

About 27,800 speakers

Key Language Findings for North Carolina

About 1.0 million people in North Carolina speak a language other than English at home, representing 11.2% of residents age 5 and older.

The most spoken non-English languages in North Carolina are Spanish, Chinese, and other Asian languages.

Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in North Carolina, with about 685,000 speakers, representing roughly 7.4% of residents age 5 and older.

Mecklenburg County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in North Carolina, with about 100,000 speakers.

Mecklenburg County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 172,000 residents.

Spanish is the leading non-English language in every one of the 100 North Carolina counties, and accounts for about 66% of all residents who speak a language other than English at home.

How Language Use Varies Across North Carolina 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 other Asian languages, Chinese, African languages, German, Hmong, Vietnamese, French, and other languages.

Mecklenburg County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Durham County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 19.4%.

English Proficiency and Language Access in North Carolina

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 North Carolina 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+
Durham County	19.4%	52,106	Spanish 33,401	Chinese 3,476	African languages 2,340	French 1,760	Arabic 1,264	Vietnamese 984	268,210
Duplin County	19.1%	10,606	Spanish 10,291	Japanese 84	Chinese 69	French 43	Portuguese 24	German 20	55,440
Mecklenburg County	18.8%	172,648	Spanish 99,976	Other Asian 7,130	African languages 6,972	Vietnamese 6,961	French 5,745	Chinese 4,911	920,054
Lee County	18.4%	10,187	Spanish 9,471	Chinese 144	Tagalog / Filipino 124	German 105	Vietnamese 101	French 62	55,298
Orange County	16.7%	22,123	Spanish 9,777	Chinese 3,227	Other Asian 1,531	Korean 1,257	French 904	German 695	132,093
Wake County	16.5%	150,511	Spanish 76,141	Chinese 9,321	Other Asian 9,243	Arabic 6,464	Hindi 6,121	African languages 5,115	910,956
Greene County	16.0%	3,208	Spanish 2,875	Serbo-Croatian 95	French 89	Italian 41	German 38	Arabic 19	20,061
Sampson County	15.8%	9,424	Spanish 8,993	French Creole 64	Chinese 42	Hebrew 39	Korean 38	Thai 37	59,743
Montgomery County	15.5%	4,012	Spanish 3,515	Laotian 210	Hmong 107	French 32	Serbo-Croatian 29	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 22	25,934
Chatham County	14.8%	9,439	Spanish 7,659	Chinese 417	French 275	German 161	Other West Germanic 155	Russian 111	63,978
Forsyth County	14.4%	48,728	Spanish 38,023	Tagalog / Filipino 1,153	Chinese 1,053	Greek 917	German 766	French 730	338,247
Union County	13.1%	26,310	Spanish 18,401	Russian 1,710	French 675	Chinese 585	Gujarati 458	Arabic 440	200,144
Guilford County	12.7%	60,567	Spanish 29,797	Vietnamese 3,994	African languages 2,933	French 2,274	Other Indic 2,119	Other Asian 2,096	475,733
Tyrrell County	12.5%	503	Spanish 403	Vietnamese 72	German 16	Japanese 12	—	—	4,023
Alamance County	12.4%	18,155	Spanish 14,694	Chinese 563	German 344	French 339	Greek 188	Hmong 174	146,029
Wayne County	12.2%	14,089	Spanish 10,862	Arabic 607	French Creole 407	Chinese 362	French 241	German 216	115,834
Johnston County	12.0%	20,031	Spanish 18,363	Hindi 223	German 182	Tagalog / Filipino 141	Arabic 121	Russian 88	166,276
Cabarrus County	11.8%	20,865	Spanish 14,751	Other Asian 662	Chinese 519	Vietnamese 518	French 385	Arabic 348	176,118
Hoke County	11.6%	5,369	Spanish 4,368	German 177	Other Indo-European 111	Vietnamese 105	Korean 83	French 77	46,274
Catawba County	11.5%	16,740	Spanish 11,040	Hmong 2,865	Other Asian 502	Vietnamese 494	Other Indo-European 323	Chinese 269	145,625
Cumberland County	11.4%	33,860	Spanish 20,343	German 2,455	Korean 1,932	Tagalog / Filipino 1,188	French 899	Chinese 723	297,822
Randolph County	11.2%	14,987	Spanish 13,175	Urdu 292	Vietnamese 267	Chinese 229	German 198	French 191	134,048
Wilson County	10.7%	8,175	Spanish 6,602	Arabic 296	Tagalog / Filipino 224	French Creole 184	African languages 177	Italian 124	76,454
Harnett County	10.5%	12,058	Spanish 9,960	German 490	Tagalog / Filipino 262	French 203	Other Indic 178	Other Pacific Island 115	114,741
Henderson County	10.0%	10,451	Spanish 8,532	German 302	Tagalog / Filipino 235	French 184	Korean 166	Hungarian 160	104,194
Iredell County	9.4%	14,651	Spanish 9,969	Other Asian 817	Hmong 642	German 404	Tagalog / Filipino 331	Hindi 322	155,590
Rowan County	9.2%	11,989	Spanish 9,734	Serbo-Croatian 393	German 273	Laotian 252	Vietnamese 213	Chinese 135	130,376
Onslow County	9.1%	15,099	Spanish 10,124	Tagalog / Filipino 907	French 756	German 716	Japanese 632	Portuguese 225	165,561
Surry County	8.7%	6,039	Spanish 5,385	Vietnamese 125	Other Asian 100	German 92	Chinese 64	French 58	69,140
Yadkin County	8.6%	3,106	Spanish 2,888	Other West Germanic 88	German 72	French 35	Chinese 13	Italian 10	35,913
Craven County	8.4%	8,111	Spanish 5,015	Other Asian 1,126	Tagalog / Filipino 310	Chinese 262	French 254	Korean 235	96,972
Burke County	8.3%	7,097	Spanish 3,926	Hmong 1,941	Laotian 441	Other / unspecified 158	German 84	Other Indo-European 80	85,058
Robeson County	8.1%	10,117	Spanish 8,558	Arabic 226	French 175	Other Indic 121	Vietnamese 121	German 116	125,012
Davidson County	7.9%	12,182	Spanish 9,181	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 943	German 278	African languages 251	Tagalog / Filipino 240	Other Asian 149	154,713
Gaston County	7.9%	15,456	Spanish 11,385	Tagalog / Filipino 417	Vietnamese 398	Chinese 392	German 366	French 270	196,813
Alleghany County	7.8%	811	Spanish 751	Arabic 21	French 18	German 13	Hungarian 8	—	10,431
Franklin County	7.8%	4,582	Spanish 3,855	Arabic 173	German 116	Tagalog / Filipino 79	Polish 68	Vietnamese 63	58,709
Granville County	7.8%	4,324	Spanish 3,412	Japanese 138	Arabic 110	German 104	African languages 101	Other Indic 98	55,206
Buncombe County	7.7%	17,968	Spanish 10,984	Russian 974	French 829	Other Slavic 825	Chinese 752	German 558	234,237
Davie County	7.7%	3,024	Spanish 2,461	Other West Germanic 99	Polish 83	German 77	Arabic 65	French 44	39,324
New Hanover County	7.6%	15,331	Spanish 9,990	Other Asian 716	French 535	Chinese 497	German 484	Vietnamese 468	201,810
Lenoir County	7.5%	4,142	Spanish 3,494	French 143	Vietnamese 83	Urdu 79	Arabic 71	Korean 56	55,306
Macon County	7.3%	2,368	Spanish 1,822	Tagalog / Filipino 105	German 101	Chinese 76	French 67	Russian 29	32,230
Moore County	7.3%	6,373	Spanish 4,664	German 271	Tagalog / Filipino 243	French 218	Polish 167	Hindi 114	86,714
Lincoln County	7.2%	5,460	Spanish 4,711	French 121	German 111	Other Indo-European 105	Other Asian 65	Tagalog / Filipino 61	75,337
Pitt County	7.2%	11,735	Spanish 8,028	Vietnamese 523	Chinese 483	Arabic 371	French 308	Korean 300	162,896
Dare County	6.7%	2,203	Spanish 1,757	French 135	German 81	Tagalog / Filipino 58	Other Indo-European 33	Other Asian 30	33,064
Bladen County	6.6%	2,159	Spanish 2,015	French 63	German 27	Italian 9	Polish 9	Japanese 9	32,924
Nash County	6.6%	5,868	Spanish 4,751	Arabic 290	Other Indic 202	Tagalog / Filipino 168	German 131	Russian 82	89,161
Richmond County	6.6%	2,833	Spanish 2,583	German 51	Other Native North American 43	Vietnamese 31	Korean 27	French 26	43,233
Beaufort County	6.5%	2,939	Spanish 2,475	French 129	German 86	Other Indo-European 69	Italian 62	Hungarian 31	44,980
Brunswick County	6.4%	7,093	Spanish 4,901	German 273	Other Pacific Island 258	Portuguese 257	French 187	Other Asian 161	110,470
Hyde County	6.3%	341	Spanish 341	—	—	—	—	—	5,395
Jackson County	6.3%	2,458	Spanish 1,831	French 175	Other Native North American 83	Russian 54	Gujarati 54	Arabic 42	38,844
Pender County	6.3%	3,287	Spanish 2,734	German 207	Tagalog / Filipino 103	Other Slavic 92	Serbo-Croatian 59	French 52	52,352
Avery County	6.1%	1,033	Spanish 844	French 52	Chinese 27	Hungarian 22	Scandinavian 19	Portuguese 17	16,998
Pasquotank County	6.1%	2,299	Spanish 1,359	Tagalog / Filipino 221	Hindi 102	German 96	Scandinavian 73	African languages 72	37,392
McDowell County	6.0%	2,554	Spanish 2,215	Hmong 79	German 56	Greek 41	Other Asian 33	Other Pacific Island 30	42,711
Rockingham County	5.9%	5,151	Spanish 4,200	Chinese 180	German 134	African languages 84	French 64	Other Asian 62	87,456
Stanly County	5.7%	3,282	Spanish 2,041	Hmong 548	Chinese 100	Serbo-Croatian 61	Vietnamese 60	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 55	57,148
Wilkes County	5.7%	3,712	Spanish 3,071	Arabic 179	African languages 119	Japanese 101	German 71	French 58	65,423
Pamlico County	5.6%	698	Spanish 426	Other Pacific Island 88	Russian 36	French 33	Japanese 32	Arabic 23	12,475
Hertford County	5.4%	1,251	Spanish 907	German 47	Arabic 40	French 36	African languages 36	Chinese 32	23,081
Caldwell County	5.3%	4,115	Spanish 3,243	Tagalog / Filipino 126	German 124	Vietnamese 120	Arabic 103	French 97	77,582
Carteret County	5.3%	3,462	Spanish 1,950	German 249	Chinese 145	Portuguese 143	Vietnamese 110	Greek 99	65,101
Columbus County	5.3%	2,871	Spanish 2,489	Arabic 96	Hindi 93	French 66	German 56	African languages 12	54,121
Polk County	5.3%	1,039	Spanish 840	French 89	German 29	Italian 26	Korean 12	Portuguese 9	19,546
Mitchell County	5.2%	758	Spanish 650	French 46	German 27	Chinese 18	Other Indic 12	Hindi 2	14,631
Vance County	5.1%	2,154	Spanish 1,886	Chinese 87	Arabic 56	Persian 30	Japanese 19	Thai 17	41,859
Anson County	5.0%	1,240	Spanish 865	Hmong 215	Urdu 56	French 54	Italian 15	Tagalog / Filipino 13	24,779
Ashe County	5.0%	1,280	Spanish 1,141	Tagalog / Filipino 38	French 29	Other Asian 18	Other Indic 15	Chinese 11	25,795
Yancey County	4.9%	821	Spanish 707	Scandinavian 48	French 22	German 15	Japanese 13	Italian 8	16,852
Camden County	4.7%	457	Spanish 224	Vietnamese 103	Chinese 33	Korean 31	Other Asian 27	French 11	9,704
Watauga County	4.7%	2,353	Spanish 1,502	German 154	French 100	Arabic 83	Portuguese 57	Russian 50	50,358
Jones County	4.6%	441	Spanish 392	Chinese 14	German 10	Japanese 10	Korean 10	Arabic 5	9,685
Person County	4.6%	1,703	Spanish 1,447	French 58	Gujarati 51	German 37	Russian 27	Chinese 25	37,092
Alexander County	4.3%	1,528	Spanish 1,181	Hmong 145	African languages 42	German 34	Other Indo-European 34	Tagalog / Filipino 26	35,246
Rutherford County	4.2%	2,637	Spanish 1,924	Chinese 207	French 117	German 116	Tagalog / Filipino 62	Hungarian 56	63,377
Cleveland County	4.0%	3,680	Spanish 2,392	Laotian 295	Arabic 153	African languages 151	Tagalog / Filipino 118	French 81	91,764
Edgecombe County	4.0%	2,050	Spanish 1,876	French 45	German 45	Vietnamese 23	Chinese 20	Italian 14	51,767
Cherokee County	3.9%	1,020	Spanish 542	Hungarian 92	French 84	German 55	Vietnamese 45	Portuguese 42	25,914
Transylvania County	3.9%	1,247	Spanish 855	French 115	German 87	Chinese 81	Italian 17	Portuguese 15	31,626
Warren County	3.9%	754	Spanish 591	French 47	German 42	Korean 20	Other Native North American 18	Arabic 13	19,410
Caswell County	3.6%	787	Spanish 608	Other Indic 45	German 29	French 27	Vietnamese 24	Chinese 16	22,070
Scotland County	3.6%	1,204	Spanish 749	Vietnamese 99	Persian 57	Tagalog / Filipino 54	French 49	African languages 37	33,651
Perquimans County	3.5%	455	Spanish 277	German 142	Polish 15	Arabic 14	Scandinavian 7	—	12,857
Bertie County	3.4%	671	Spanish 556	Chinese 27	French 23	Tagalog / Filipino 19	German 17	Vietnamese 8	19,612
Currituck County	3.4%	783	Spanish 467	Russian 86	Greek 59	German 57	Portuguese 40	Italian 34	23,251
Martin County	3.3%	735	Spanish 656	Korean 27	Italian 22	French 18	German 6	Tagalog / Filipino 4	22,565
Washington County	3.2%	379	Spanish 350	German 23	Other Native North American 4	Other Indo-European 2	—	—	11,935
Chowan County	3.1%	428	Spanish 280	French 42	Japanese 29	Other West Germanic 28	Arabic 21	Vietnamese 16	13,870
Halifax County	3.1%	1,550	Spanish 1,021	Chinese 195	French 73	German 40	Tagalog / Filipino 37	Vietnamese 36	50,563
Haywood County	3.1%	1,771	Spanish 1,314	German 111	Vietnamese 84	Gujarati 49	Italian 38	French 33	56,471
Swain County	3.1%	413	Spanish 223	Other Native North American 74	German 50	Hindi 24	French 14	Korean 10	13,272
Madison County	3.0%	608	Spanish 434	French 59	Other Indic 36	Tagalog / Filipino 34	Chinese 15	German 13	20,100
Clay County	2.5%	252	Spanish 202	German 25	Other Indo-European 14	French 11	—	—	10,171
Stokes County	2.5%	1,120	Spanish 878	Vietnamese 65	Hindi 48	Russian 46	German 27	Tagalog / Filipino 17	44,398
Northampton County	2.3%	461	Spanish 329	Other Indo-European 45	German 39	Hebrew 13	Portuguese 10	Other Pacific Island 9	19,936
Gates County	2.1%	228	Spanish 116	French 40	Italian 25	Chinese 18	Other Native North American 18	Arabic 11	11,088
Graham County	1.9%	162	Spanish 111	Other Native North American 27	Other / unspecified 15	Russian 9	—	—	8,360

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 North Carolina: Map and County Data

Languages Spoken Across North Carolina Counties

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in North Carolina

Key Language Findings for North Carolina

How Language Use Varies Across North Carolina Counties

English Proficiency and Language Access in North Carolina

Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve

About the Data

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