Maps: A Lot of People Speak Persian in Montgomery County

By Whitney Teal

About one-fifth of Americans speak languages other than English at home, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey in 2011. That’s up from about 18 percent in 2000, according to The Atlantic Cities.

The bureau created a set of colorful maps, based on the 2011 data, to show where people are speaking other languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Persian (Farsi) and Arabic.

In Montgomery County, a swath of Persian speakers is concentrated in the mid-county and Gaithersburg, while Arabic is less prolific and concentrated mainly in Aspen Hill and Germantown. Vietnamese-speakers are common in the East County and Spanish is spoken in homes in every corner of Montgomery County, according to the map.

Play around with the maps yourself at Census.gov.

What languages do you speak at home? What languages do your neighbors speak? What  language, besides English, seems to be most popular in Montgomery County? Tell us in the comments.