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Limited English among non-English speakers: U.S. states ranked (2025)

Measure: Share of non-English speakers at home who 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: 2025.

Licence: Public domain (U.S. federal government work).
Data last updated: 2026-10-29

Download full table CSV Source: U.S. Census Bureau (Table S1601) (opens in a new tab)Source: U.S. Census Bureau (Table B05002) (opens in a new tab)

National value: 36.9 (United States).

Small states, hard to see on the map:

DC 24.6 %
RI 37.3 %
DE 33.8 %
CT 34.7 %
NJ 39.1 %
MD 36.9 %
MA 36.9 %
VT 23.3 %
NH 30.1 %

Lowest: 22.4 to 32 %
Group 2: 32 to 34.1 %
Group 3: 34.1 to 36.6 %
Group 4: 36.6 to 38.7 %
Highest: 38.7 to 42.6 %

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	New York	42.6
2	Kentucky	42.1
3	Tennessee	41.7
4	Nebraska	41.3
5	Hawaii	41
6	Iowa	40.7
6	Louisiana	40.7
8	Florida	40.1
9	Kansas	39.1
9	New Jersey	39.1
11	Mississippi	38.7
12	California	37.4
13	Rhode Island	37.3
14	Indiana	37.2
15	Nevada	37.1
16	Arkansas	37
17	Maryland	36.9
17	Massachusetts	36.9
19	South Carolina	36.8
19	Wyoming	36.8
21	Pennsylvania	36.6
22	Illinois	36.5
22	North Carolina	36.5
24	South Dakota	35.9
24	Washington	35.9
26	Alabama	35.7
27	Georgia	35
28	Minnesota	34.8
29	Connecticut	34.7
30	Texas	34.5
31	Oregon	34.1
31	Utah	34.1
33	Oklahoma	33.9
33	Wisconsin	33.9
35	Delaware	33.8
35	Michigan	33.8
37	Ohio	33.4
38	Colorado	32.8
39	Arizona	32.5
40	Virginia	32.2
41	Missouri	32
42	North Dakota	31.1
43	Alaska	30.8
44	New Hampshire	30.1
45	New Mexico	29.2
46	Maine	28
47	Idaho	27.6
48	West Virginia	25
49	District of Columbia	24.6
50	Vermont	23.3
51	Montana	22.4

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: 2025.

Cite this ranking

U.S. states ranked by share of non-English speakers at home who speak English less than 'very well' (%) (2025). Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 1-year estimates, Tables S1601 and B05002; rank derived by Quadranac. Data last updated 2026-10-29. 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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