Languages Spoken in Ohio: Map and County Data

46.7%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 730,000 people age 5 and older in Ohio speak a language other than English at home, representing 6.7% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 243,000 speakers, followed by German and other West Germanic languages.

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Ohio

The most spoken non-English languages in Ohio are Spanish, German, and other West Germanic languages. Spanish is spoken at home by about 243,000 people, or roughly 2.2% of the state’s population age 5+.

#1 non-English language

Spanish

About 243,000 speakers

#2 non-English language

German

About 49,700 speakers

#3 non-English language

Other West Germanic languages

About 44,600 speakers

Key Language Findings for Ohio

About 730,000 people in Ohio speak a language other than English at home, representing 6.7% of residents age 5 and older.

The most spoken non-English languages in Ohio are Spanish, German, and other West Germanic languages.

Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Ohio, with about 243,000 speakers, representing roughly 2.2% of residents age 5 and older.

Cuyahoga County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Ohio, with about 44,100 speakers.

Franklin County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 139,000 residents.

While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 19 of the 88 Ohio counties, including other West Germanic languages in Holmes County.

How Language Use Varies Across Ohio Counties

Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Ohio, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking other West Germanic languages, Chinese, African languages, German, Arabic, other Asian languages, French, and other languages.

Franklin County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Holmes County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 46.7%. In Holmes County, other West Germanic languages are the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.

English Proficiency and Language Access in Ohio

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 Ohio 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+
Holmes County	46.7%	18,424	Other West Germanic 12,959	German 5,113	Spanish 198	Italian 30	Arabic 30	Other Pacific Island 27	39,422
Franklin County	12.3%	139,131	Spanish 41,994	African languages 24,744	Chinese 10,570	Arabic 7,286	Other Asian 6,536	French 6,357	1,128,154
Geauga County	11.6%	10,335	Other West Germanic 4,404	German 3,236	Spanish 450	Italian 289	Serbo-Croatian 270	French 235	89,069
Cuyahoga County	11.4%	135,084	Spanish 44,064	Arabic 12,138	Chinese 9,347	Other Indo-European 6,596	Russian 6,284	Other Slavic 6,188	1,190,015
Wayne County	11.0%	11,859	Other West Germanic 6,246	German 2,328	Spanish 1,914	French 171	Vietnamese 169	Chinese 133	107,767
Lorain County	7.9%	22,472	Spanish 14,528	German 877	Chinese 785	Arabic 648	Polish 538	French 473	285,778
Coshocton County	7.5%	2,596	Other West Germanic 1,323	German 962	Spanish 173	Other Indo-European 47	Korean 32	French 19	34,481
Delaware County	7.5%	13,043	Spanish 2,642	Other Asian 1,564	Chinese 1,562	Korean 849	Hindi 805	German 709	173,486
Lake County	7.5%	16,246	Spanish 6,348	Serbo-Croatian 2,734	Italian 875	Other Indo-European 783	German 725	Other Slavic 675	217,641
Warren County	7.5%	15,586	Spanish 4,495	Chinese 2,222	Other Asian 1,938	Hindi 1,040	Russian 945	Japanese 614	206,533
Butler County	7.0%	24,611	Spanish 11,368	Chinese 2,193	Vietnamese 1,088	Other Indic 1,080	African languages 1,049	French 1,021	349,153
Hamilton County	6.9%	51,878	Spanish 17,905	African languages 4,325	French 4,013	Chinese 3,050	German 2,883	Hindi 2,330	750,654
Ashtabula County	6.7%	6,287	Spanish 2,212	Other West Germanic 2,107	German 691	Italian 168	Tagalog / Filipino 125	Other Indic 120	94,096
Greene County	6.4%	9,892	Spanish 2,615	Arabic 1,265	Chinese 982	Other Asian 446	Vietnamese 434	German 430	155,107
Huron County	6.4%	3,523	Spanish 2,280	Other West Germanic 529	German 240	French 121	Arabic 91	Chinese 85	55,165
Lucas County	6.2%	25,510	Spanish 11,068	Arabic 3,473	Chinese 1,643	French 849	German 819	Polish 749	408,341
Mahoning County	6.2%	13,751	Spanish 7,084	Italian 981	Greek 801	German 506	Other Slavic 499	Arabic 454	222,446
Tuscarawas County	5.9%	5,182	Other West Germanic 2,467	Spanish 1,446	German 814	Italian 75	Gujarati 67	French 64	87,161
Montgomery County	5.8%	28,994	Spanish 9,357	Other Asian 2,537	Arabic 2,011	Chinese 1,891	German 1,729	African languages 1,707	500,862
Summit County	5.8%	29,673	Spanish 5,853	Other Indic 2,722	Chinese 2,364	Arabic 2,062	Other Asian 1,869	German 1,562	510,940
Wood County	5.7%	6,916	Spanish 2,798	Arabic 641	Chinese 566	German 387	French 385	Korean 252	121,960
Ashland County	5.6%	2,830	German 1,203	Other West Germanic 739	Spanish 357	Arabic 195	French 67	Chinese 57	50,106
Athens County	5.6%	3,486	Chinese 1,043	Spanish 646	Arabic 391	German 231	Hindi 119	Other Asian 112	62,316
Sandusky County	5.3%	2,981	Spanish 2,440	Other West Germanic 115	French 82	German 71	Japanese 53	Korean 39	56,643
Trumbull County	5.3%	10,341	Other West Germanic 2,029	German 1,901	Spanish 1,823	Italian 938	Greek 898	Arabic 311	195,598
Knox County	5.1%	2,915	German 1,001	Other West Germanic 936	Spanish 518	French 85	Serbo-Croatian 57	Japanese 43	57,226
Defiance County	5.0%	1,827	Spanish 1,375	German 287	Other Indo-European 38	Other West Germanic 34	Hungarian 28	Gujarati 24	36,396
Hardin County	4.9%	1,450	Other West Germanic 512	Spanish 303	German 193	French 81	Hindi 57	Serbo-Croatian 49	29,773
Medina County	4.9%	8,119	Spanish 1,951	German 734	Other West Germanic 573	Serbo-Croatian 512	Hungarian 420	Other Slavic 418	165,331
Hancock County	4.7%	3,309	Spanish 1,410	Arabic 468	French 212	Hindi 208	Japanese 176	German 134	70,843
Portage County	4.6%	7,035	Spanish 1,384	Arabic 904	Chinese 844	German 603	Other West Germanic 375	Other Indic 360	154,411
Fulton County	4.3%	1,725	Spanish 1,330	German 97	Arabic 79	French 59	Polish 24	Russian 23	39,900
Marion County	4.3%	2,659	Spanish 1,588	German 162	Arabic 138	French 124	Gujarati 85	Greek 78	62,101
Union County	4.3%	2,179	Spanish 410	Chinese 326	Hindi 291	German 143	Korean 122	Persian 121	50,231
Logan County	4.2%	1,808	German 857	Spanish 453	Other West Germanic 136	Hindi 81	African languages 54	Japanese 37	42,678
Clark County	4.1%	5,262	Spanish 3,270	German 477	French 249	Chinese 186	Arabic 116	Tagalog / Filipino 112	128,683
Morrow County	4.0%	1,312	German 396	Other West Germanic 384	Spanish 329	French 86	Gujarati 49	Tagalog / Filipino 23	33,012
Henry County	3.9%	1,019	Spanish 739	German 118	Tagalog / Filipino 52	Other West Germanic 37	Hebrew 24	Other Slavic 10	26,272
Richland County	3.7%	4,276	Spanish 1,170	Other West Germanic 1,128	German 463	Gujarati 392	French 272	Arabic 160	115,341
Fairfield County	3.6%	5,076	Spanish 1,670	African languages 725	German 474	Vietnamese 292	Other Indic 203	French 180	140,501
Madison County	3.5%	1,424	Spanish 497	Other West Germanic 262	German 159	Japanese 154	Other Slavic 83	Other Asian 65	41,141
Paulding County	3.5%	625	Spanish 442	German 38	Chinese 31	Arabic 31	Other West Germanic 30	French 25	17,998
Stark County	3.5%	12,503	Spanish 4,232	German 1,010	Greek 872	Italian 849	Other Slavic 624	Other West Germanic 584	354,047
Putnam County	3.4%	1,071	Spanish 878	German 88	Scandinavian 40	Chinese 19	Arabic 17	Tagalog / Filipino 16	31,839
Clermont County	3.3%	6,166	Spanish 2,823	German 598	Arabic 273	Other Asian 262	Other Indo-European 254	French 243	187,871
Jackson County	3.3%	1,021	Spanish 515	Other West Germanic 206	Arabic 147	Korean 58	German 38	French 30	30,778
Monroe County	3.3%	460	German 239	Other West Germanic 104	French 49	Spanish 43	Other Indo-European 19	Serbo-Croatian 4	13,743
Carroll County	3.2%	873	Other West Germanic 290	German 246	Spanish 200	Other Asian 25	Tagalog / Filipino 20	Other Slavic 18	26,956
Fayette County	3.2%	858	Spanish 449	Other West Germanic 93	Other Indic 70	German 63	Other Pacific Island 53	Italian 32	26,983
Gallia County	3.2%	907	Other West Germanic 483	Spanish 180	German 83	Other Asian 50	Vietnamese 32	Arabic 21	28,666
Licking County	3.2%	5,075	Spanish 1,590	German 606	African languages 395	Italian 293	Other West Germanic 254	Chinese 235	158,434
Erie County	3.1%	2,236	Spanish 1,337	German 264	French 99	Italian 78	Japanese 76	Arabic 48	72,089
Williams County	3.1%	1,099	Spanish 697	German 93	French 52	Polish 39	Serbo-Croatian 39	Other West Germanic 29	35,256
Ottawa County	3.0%	1,193	Spanish 709	German 102	Italian 57	Greek 48	French 44	Russian 41	39,392
Pike County	3.0%	810	Other West Germanic 354	Spanish 219	Vietnamese 56	Japanese 50	French 37	Hebrew 31	26,701
Noble County	2.9%	402	Spanish 149	German 142	Other West Germanic 80	French 15	Arabic 15	Italian 1	13,861
Seneca County	2.9%	1,524	Spanish 885	Chinese 119	German 100	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 81	French 60	Serbo-Croatian 51	52,929
Shelby County	2.9%	1,350	Spanish 496	German 217	African languages 143	Hindi 103	Japanese 77	Chinese 57	45,883
Wyandot County	2.8%	597	Spanish 448	German 75	French 48	Laotian 14	Other West Germanic 12	—	21,122
Guernsey County	2.7%	997	Other West Germanic 286	Spanish 244	German 153	Russian 59	Chinese 51	Greek 38	37,294
Miami County	2.7%	2,593	Spanish 948	Japanese 358	Chinese 354	Other Indic 125	French 114	German 110	97,452
Ross County	2.7%	1,978	Spanish 1,012	French 212	Chinese 204	Other West Germanic 130	Tagalog / Filipino 75	German 64	73,103
Vinton County	2.6%	323	Spanish 154	Other Native North American 81	German 61	French 13	Italian 7	Japanese 7	12,455
Jefferson County	2.5%	1,642	Spanish 552	Italian 226	Other West Germanic 121	French 119	Tagalog / Filipino 92	Serbo-Croatian 78	64,756
Morgan County	2.5%	348	German 185	French 58	Other West Germanic 37	Spanish 31	Hungarian 11	Korean 9	14,148
Allen County	2.4%	2,385	Spanish 950	German 211	Chinese 145	African languages 134	Vietnamese 123	Arabic 116	98,691
Auglaize County	2.4%	1,012	Spanish 451	German 94	French 82	Chinese 63	Other West Germanic 57	Other Slavic 48	42,900
Harrison County	2.4%	360	German 124	Spanish 108	Other West Germanic 76	French 19	Italian 9	Serbo-Croatian 6	14,793
Washington County	2.3%	1,326	Spanish 589	Chinese 139	Other Asian 80	Other West Germanic 71	Gujarati 47	Hmong 43	58,346
Belmont County	2.2%	1,439	Spanish 587	German 211	Italian 149	Chinese 120	Polish 63	French 50	66,128
Columbiana County	2.2%	2,256	Spanish 1,340	German 181	Other West Germanic 148	French 142	Italian 77	Korean 57	100,309
Mercer County	2.1%	787	Spanish 235	German 205	Other Pacific Island 136	Hindi 42	Other West Germanic 37	Vietnamese 31	38,121
Highland County	2.0%	811	Spanish 223	Other West Germanic 199	German 180	Chinese 51	Hindi 28	Other Asian 28	40,471
Darke County	1.9%	910	Spanish 491	Other West Germanic 106	German 87	French 49	Gujarati 39	Greek 30	49,181
Muskingum County	1.9%	1,550	Spanish 460	German 247	Arabic 189	French 146	Other West Germanic 143	Chinese 80	80,774
Perry County	1.9%	637	Spanish 282	German 152	Other West Germanic 85	Greek 45	Chinese 27	Other Indic 17	33,786
Preble County	1.9%	741	Spanish 178	German 118	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 79	French 67	Other Slavic 62	Japanese 53	39,343
Champaign County	1.8%	673	Spanish 303	German 67	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 65	Other Indic 37	Greek 36	Vietnamese 27	37,179
Pickaway County	1.8%	941	Spanish 461	Other Slavic 150	German 102	French 91	Other West Germanic 52	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 27	53,392
Adams County	1.7%	443	Spanish 216	German 108	Russian 38	Other Native North American 29	Other West Germanic 14	Greek 12	26,463
Scioto County	1.7%	1,254	Spanish 657	Chinese 216	German 95	Other West Germanic 45	French 43	Japanese 41	73,659
Van Wert County	1.6%	428	Spanish 203	German 79	Other West Germanic 59	French 38	Tagalog / Filipino 28	Japanese 8	26,894
Brown County	1.5%	623	Spanish 398	German 48	Other Asian 25	French 23	Polish 20	Other Pacific Island 20	41,664
Clinton County	1.5%	596	Spanish 367	German 71	Scandinavian 63	Other West Germanic 34	African languages 28	French 19	39,294
Crawford County	1.5%	607	Spanish 267	German 101	Japanese 78	Chinese 67	Hungarian 28	Other Asian 20	40,348
Hocking County	1.4%	383	Spanish 122	German 78	Chinese 55	Korean 33	French 31	Other West Germanic 25	27,315
Lawrence County	1.3%	738	Spanish 328	French 84	German 82	Korean 80	Urdu 54	Other West Germanic 49	58,283
Meigs County	0.7%	158	Spanish 84	French 24	Vietnamese 19	Other Slavic 10	Portuguese 8	Serbo-Croatian 8	22,157

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 Ohio: Map and County Data

Languages Spoken Across Ohio Counties

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Ohio

Key Language Findings for Ohio

How Language Use Varies Across Ohio Counties

English Proficiency and Language Access in Ohio

Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve

About the Data

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