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U.S. states ranked by language spoken at home and foreign-born share: Of those: speak English less than 'very well'

All 50 states and District of Columbia with data in Language spoken at home and foreign-born share by state, ranked from highest to lowest. Reference period: 2024.

Licence: Public domain (U.S. federal government work).
Data last updated: 2026-10-26

National value: 39.1 (United States).

Small states, hard to see on the map:

DC 31.7 %
RI 45 %
DE 34.7 %
CT 37.9 %
NJ 40.4 %
MD 37.9 %
MA 40.1 %
VT 25.7 %
NH 29.7 %

Lowest: 18.8 to 32.8 %
Group 2: 32.8 to 36.7 %
Group 3: 36.7 to 37.9 %
Group 4: 37.9 to 40.4 %
Highest: 40.4 to 45.7 %

The map is a visual summary; every value is in the table below, which is the keyboard and screen-reader path. Groups are quintiles of the values shown (a derived grouping). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain), simplified. Alaska and Hawaii are shown as insets, not to scale.

Rank is derived by Quadranac: 1 = highest value; ties share a rank. Values are as published in the source table.


1	Nebraska	45.7
2	New York	45.4
3	Rhode Island	45
4	Kentucky	44.8
5	Arkansas	43.8
6	Tennessee	42.7
7	Hawaii	42.6
8	Florida	42.3
9	Iowa	41.8
10	Louisiana	41
11	New Jersey	40.4
12	Kansas	40.3
13	Massachusetts	40.1
14	California	39.5
14	Pennsylvania	39.5
16	Alabama	39.2
16	Indiana	39.2
18	South Carolina	39
19	Oklahoma	38.1
20	Nevada	38
21	Connecticut	37.9
21	Maryland	37.9
23	Illinois	37.8
24	Oregon	37.7
25	Minnesota	37.6
26	North Carolina	37.5
27	Mississippi	37.4
28	Utah	37.2
29	Texas	37.1
30	Georgia	36.8
31	South Dakota	36.7
32	Ohio	36.2
32	Washington	36.2
34	Michigan	36.1
35	Virginia	35.7
36	Wisconsin	35.2
37	Delaware	34.7
38	Colorado	34.3
39	Idaho	34.1
40	Missouri	33.9
41	Arizona	32.8
42	Wyoming	32.2
43	District of Columbia	31.7
43	West Virginia	31.7
45	New Mexico	31.3
46	New Hampshire	29.7
47	North Dakota	29.6
48	Alaska	28.7
49	Maine	26.4
50	Vermont	25.7
51	Montana	18.8

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Table S1601: Language Spoken at Home
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Table B05002: Place of Birth by Nativity and Citizenship Status. Reference period: 2024.

Cite this ranking

U.S. states ranked by language spoken at home and foreign-born share: Of those: speak English less than 'very well' (2024). Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 1-year estimates, Tables S1601 and B05002; rank derived by Quadranac. Data last updated 2026-10-26. https://quadranac.com/rankings/us-states-by-language-spoken-at-home-and-foreign-born-share-of-those-speak-english-less-than-very-well/

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