Census: McAllen(Texas) most multilingual city in U.S.

Census: McAllen(Texas) most multilingual city in U.S.
KGBT
Posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 6:11:52 PM by SwinneySwitch

CBS News is reporting that McAllen is the most multilingual city in the United States, according to the latest census data.

The Census Bureau Tuesday released its American Community Survey results, which charts a range of social, economic and housing data in U.S. metropolitan areas.

CBS reported that the running survey, which is different from the traditional once-a-decade census, tracks three years worth of data.

The latest figures cover 2006 to 2008. Among the findings:

• McAllen, Texas has the highest percentage of people age 5 and older who speak a language other than English at home - 84.2 percent while Charleston, West Virginia has the lowest - 1.8 percent.

El Paso, Texas is the only other metro area with more than three-quarters of its population speaking another language.

• The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area ranks first in foreign-born citizens with 36.9 percent. Altoona, Pa., ranks last with just 0.9 percent.

Only two other areas top 30 percent - San Jose, Calif., and Los Angeles.

• San Jose, Calif., boasts the highest median home values - $739,700 - while Odessa, Texas ranks last with $68,200. California dominates the country in this category.

While San Jose is the only metro area to top the $700,000 median value, the six others that exceed $600,000 - Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Salinas, Napa, Santa Barbara and Oxnard - are all in the Sunshine State.

• Provo-Orem, Utah and Laredo, Texas share the top spot for largest average household with 3.5 people. Ocean City, N.J., ranks last with 2.0 people per household.

• New Yorkers have the longest commute to work, checking in at 34.5 minutes, followed closely by Washington, D.C., at 33.2 minutes.

Residents in Grand Forks, N.D., have the shortest commute and live in the only metro area with an average commute time under 15 minutes.