Languages Spoken in Pennsylvania: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across Pennsylvania Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 1.3 million people age 5 and older in Pennsylvania speak a language other than English at home, representing 10.6% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 549,000 speakers, followed by Chinese and other West Germanic languages.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Pennsylvania
The most spoken non-English languages in Pennsylvania are Spanish, Chinese, and other West Germanic languages. Spanish is spoken at home by about 549,000 people, or roughly 4.6% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for Pennsylvania
About 1.3 million people in Pennsylvania speak a language other than English at home, representing 10.6% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in Pennsylvania are Spanish, Chinese, and other West Germanic languages.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Pennsylvania, with about 549,000 speakers, representing roughly 4.6% of residents age 5 and older.
Philadelphia County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Pennsylvania, with about 146,000 speakers.
Philadelphia County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 319,000 residents.
While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 15 of the 67 Pennsylvania counties, including Chinese in Centre County.
How Language Use Varies Across Pennsylvania Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Pennsylvania, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking Chinese, other West Germanic languages, German, Vietnamese, Italian, Korean, Russian, and other languages.
Philadelphia County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Lehigh County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 22.8%. In Centre County, Chinese is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.
English Proficiency and Language Access in Pennsylvania
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+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lehigh County | 76,327 | Spanish 52,452 | Arabic 4,990 | Chinese 1,914 | Vietnamese 1,594 | German 1,588 | Hindi 1,369 | 335,468 | |
| Philadelphia County | 319,310 | Spanish 146,180 | Chinese 32,089 | Vietnamese 14,821 | Russian 12,616 | Arabic 8,886 | French 8,742 | 1,447,361 | |
| Berks County | 66,288 | Spanish 51,606 | Other West Germanic 2,489 | German 1,434 | Vietnamese 1,367 | French Creole 1,102 | Other Indo-European 1,067 | 389,424 | |
| Lancaster County | 78,174 | Spanish 32,625 | Other West Germanic 24,473 | German 4,959 | Vietnamese 2,494 | African languages 1,229 | Chinese 1,202 | 494,967 | |
| Monroe County | 24,526 | Spanish 13,991 | Polish 1,836 | Other Indo-European 862 | African languages 783 | French Creole 674 | Italian 586 | 160,092 | |
| Montgomery County | 101,360 | Spanish 25,950 | Korean 10,408 | Chinese 9,888 | Other Asian 5,569 | Italian 5,087 | Hindi 4,674 | 766,889 | |
| Northampton County | 35,274 | Spanish 20,325 | Other Indic 1,454 | German 1,204 | Italian 1,189 | Chinese 1,178 | Polish 990 | 284,458 | |
| Chester County | 57,244 | Spanish 25,763 | Chinese 4,525 | Other West Germanic 3,554 | Other Asian 3,480 | Hindi 2,362 | German 2,223 | 480,185 | |
| Delaware County | 61,649 | Spanish 14,132 | Chinese 5,303 | Other Indic 3,767 | French 3,499 | Italian 3,429 | Other Asian 3,237 | 528,027 | |
| Pike County | 6,284 | Spanish 3,238 | Polish 604 | German 335 | French 263 | Chinese 250 | French Creole 205 | 54,384 | |
| Dauphin County | 29,077 | Spanish 12,791 | Other Indic 1,650 | Vietnamese 1,604 | Arabic 1,251 | Other West Germanic 1,164 | Chinese 1,158 | 254,293 | |
| Bucks County | 66,730 | Spanish 18,556 | Russian 8,104 | Gujarati 4,605 | Chinese 3,121 | Other Asian 2,939 | German 2,823 | 594,851 | |
| Lebanon County | 13,741 | Spanish 9,058 | Other West Germanic 1,337 | Russian 504 | German 494 | Vietnamese 434 | Chinese 222 | 127,359 | |
| Centre County | 15,549 | Chinese 3,327 | Spanish 2,457 | Other West Germanic 1,243 | Russian 1,107 | Korean 959 | Other Asian 812 | 151,324 | |
| Snyder County | 3,850 | Other West Germanic 2,379 | Spanish 683 | German 331 | Urdu 86 | French 81 | Russian 73 | 37,900 | |
| Luzerne County | 29,370 | Spanish 20,403 | Italian 1,148 | Polish 885 | French 847 | Chinese 675 | Other Indic 576 | 303,969 | |
| Union County | 4,003 | Spanish 1,623 | Other West Germanic 1,110 | Chinese 217 | German 197 | Italian 88 | African languages 84 | 42,709 | |
| Juniata County | 2,149 | Other West Germanic 1,167 | Spanish 721 | French 98 | German 87 | Hindi 18 | Portuguese 11 | 23,440 | |
| Lackawanna County | 18,081 | Spanish 8,099 | Other Indic 1,423 | Italian 1,374 | Gujarati 911 | Polish 791 | German 683 | 202,181 | |
| Mifflin County | 3,886 | Other West Germanic 2,905 | Spanish 368 | German 243 | Korean 89 | Hungarian 48 | Other Slavic 47 | 43,844 | |
| Cumberland County | 18,649 | Spanish 4,018 | Other West Germanic 2,014 | Other Asian 1,116 | German 1,095 | Chinese 993 | Arabic 935 | 228,595 | |
| Forest County | 606 | Spanish 361 | Arabic 74 | French 39 | Chinese 21 | African languages 18 | German 15 | 7,459 | |
| Allegheny County | 84,383 | Spanish 16,385 | Chinese 10,066 | Italian 6,245 | Other Asian 5,571 | Other Indic 4,464 | French 4,363 | 1,166,387 | |
| York County | 28,904 | Spanish 17,932 | French 1,254 | German 1,195 | Chinese 815 | Vietnamese 707 | Russian 652 | 414,107 | |
| Franklin County | 9,814 | Spanish 5,950 | German 692 | Other West Germanic 672 | French 340 | Chinese 301 | Tagalog / Filipino 244 | 142,700 | |
| Erie County | 17,670 | Spanish 5,730 | Russian 1,340 | Arabic 1,123 | Other Indic 995 | Serbo-Croatian 978 | African languages 930 | 263,437 | |
| Adams County | 6,205 | Spanish 4,824 | German 148 | Chinese 141 | Serbo-Croatian 133 | Italian 119 | French 117 | 96,486 | |
| Indiana County | 5,255 | Other West Germanic 2,196 | Spanish 774 | German 586 | Chinese 234 | Vietnamese 199 | Urdu 170 | 83,628 | |
| Crawford County | 5,128 | Other West Germanic 2,284 | German 1,278 | Spanish 505 | Other Pacific Island 188 | Chinese 150 | Italian 103 | 82,547 | |
| Montour County | 1,032 | Spanish 350 | Other Asian 142 | Other West Germanic 130 | Hindi 89 | Chinese 83 | German 61 | 17,445 | |
| Wayne County | 2,820 | Spanish 1,410 | German 355 | Italian 172 | Polish 163 | Russian 119 | Other Slavic 59 | 49,490 | |
| Clinton County | 2,101 | Other West Germanic 1,113 | Spanish 353 | German 200 | Russian 95 | French 65 | Chinese 52 | 37,431 | |
| Mercer County | 5,062 | Other West Germanic 1,829 | Spanish 914 | German 840 | Vietnamese 274 | Italian 181 | Chinese 124 | 109,614 | |
| Schuylkill County | 6,350 | Spanish 3,144 | Other West Germanic 846 | German 368 | Italian 304 | French 194 | Other Slavic 166 | 139,319 | |
| Clearfield County | 3,394 | Spanish 1,703 | Other West Germanic 358 | German 348 | Arabic 163 | French 156 | Tagalog / Filipino 105 | 77,531 | |
| Carbon County | 2,623 | Spanish 1,052 | Polish 489 | Other West Germanic 232 | Russian 130 | Italian 121 | German 104 | 61,568 | |
| Lawrence County | 3,675 | Spanish 762 | German 631 | Italian 603 | Other West Germanic 437 | Polish 167 | Greek 157 | 84,610 | |
| Northumberland County | 3,725 | Spanish 1,404 | Other West Germanic 1,018 | German 274 | Italian 223 | Arabic 204 | Polish 116 | 89,054 | |
| Perry County | 1,815 | Other West Germanic 742 | Spanish 395 | German 313 | Chinese 41 | French 36 | Italian 35 | 43,027 | |
| Clarion County | 1,530 | German 531 | Spanish 305 | Other West Germanic 200 | French 85 | Hindi 64 | Arabic 55 | 37,417 | |
| Somerset County | 2,860 | Other West Germanic 1,041 | Spanish 749 | German 316 | French 105 | Other Indic 97 | Other Slavic 86 | 73,118 | |
| Jefferson County | 1,609 | German 665 | Other West Germanic 473 | Spanish 232 | Italian 53 | French 32 | Chinese 22 | 42,225 | |
| Lycoming County | 3,993 | Spanish 1,709 | German 375 | French 266 | Other West Germanic 261 | Italian 225 | Urdu 144 | 110,132 | |
| Huntingdon County | 1,525 | Spanish 722 | Other West Germanic 165 | French 163 | Arabic 97 | German 92 | Italian 71 | 43,688 | |
| Greene County | 1,215 | Spanish 739 | German 111 | Arabic 102 | French 76 | Italian 46 | Chinese 38 | 36,034 | |
| Washington County | 6,601 | Spanish 1,843 | Italian 696 | German 555 | Greek 423 | Other Slavic 329 | Russian 299 | 197,811 | |
| Columbia County | 2,044 | Spanish 720 | Chinese 152 | French 139 | Italian 139 | Other West Germanic 130 | Hindi 94 | 63,835 | |
| Bedford County | 1,437 | Other West Germanic 567 | Spanish 386 | German 173 | Italian 67 | Other Indic 46 | French 32 | 46,602 | |
| Warren County | 1,203 | German 300 | Spanish 244 | Other West Germanic 151 | French 124 | Italian 60 | Urdu 54 | 38,943 | |
| Butler County | 5,054 | Spanish 1,436 | German 625 | French 477 | Italian 384 | Vietnamese 253 | Other Asian 234 | 176,229 | |
| Cambria County | 3,816 | Spanish 1,706 | Other Slavic 289 | German 275 | Korean 137 | French 136 | Chinese 131 | 132,483 | |
| Westmoreland County | 9,927 | Spanish 2,587 | German 1,255 | Italian 1,137 | Chinese 731 | French 466 | Other Slavic 388 | 344,405 | |
| Beaver County | 4,582 | Spanish 1,380 | Italian 692 | German 434 | Greek 271 | Chinese 265 | French 253 | 161,005 | |
| McKean County | 1,153 | Spanish 578 | Italian 84 | German 80 | French 56 | Chinese 52 | Korean 45 | 40,717 | |
| Bradford County | 1,607 | Spanish 506 | Other West Germanic 225 | German 211 | Italian 110 | Gujarati 78 | Russian 57 | 58,569 | |
| Sullivan County | 164 | Spanish 59 | Italian 23 | Polish 23 | Other Indo-European 18 | French 9 | German 9 | 6,155 | |
| Blair County | 3,159 | Spanish 998 | Other West Germanic 571 | German 321 | Chinese 183 | French 171 | Italian 171 | 119,318 | |
| Susquehanna County | 1,007 | Spanish 360 | German 123 | Italian 91 | French 84 | Tagalog / Filipino 37 | Polish 36 | 40,336 | |
| Fayette County | 3,054 | Spanish 1,006 | German 519 | French 185 | Italian 182 | Other Pacific Island 179 | Polish 138 | 128,190 | |
| Wyoming County | 633 | Spanish 302 | Chinese 73 | German 64 | French 36 | Russian 34 | Italian 26 | 26,710 | |
| Potter County | 353 | Spanish 110 | French 57 | Other West Germanic 33 | German 32 | Italian 18 | Russian 18 | 16,409 | |
| Tioga County | 784 | Spanish 409 | German 51 | Chinese 49 | Italian 40 | Other West Germanic 37 | African languages 35 | 39,944 | |
| Venango County | 988 | Spanish 262 | German 202 | Other West Germanic 132 | French 62 | Polish 49 | Chinese 49 | 51,054 | |
| Armstrong County | 1,179 | Spanish 310 | Other West Germanic 251 | French 130 | German 113 | Italian 108 | Other Slavic 64 | 64,565 | |
| Elk County | 505 | German 151 | Italian 72 | Spanish 70 | French 49 | Other Indic 48 | Russian 40 | 29,875 | |
| Cameron County | 76 | Spanish 34 | German 20 | African languages 14 | Yiddish 4 | Other Indo-European 3 | French 1 | 4,658 | |
| Fulton County | 229 | Spanish 100 | Italian 37 | German 37 | French 13 | Other Asian 11 | French Creole 6 | 13,911 |
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.