Detroit Among Least Bilingual Cities in US [2025 American Language Study]

Key Findings 

• About 20% of people in the United States are bilingual

• The second most spoken language in the US is Spanish

• El Paso, Texas, is the most bilingual city in the United States, followed by Los Angeles and San Jose, California.

  • Nearly 7 in 10 residents of El Paso speak a language other than English, and 39% of its population is bilingual. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in this Texas city, spoken by 67% of residents.

• Detroit, Michigan, is the least bilingual city in the country, followed by Indianapolis, Indiana, and Nashville, Tennessee.

  • Just 11% of Detroit residents speak a language other than English, and only 6% are bilingual. The most common language, other than English, is Spanish, with 7% of the population speaking it.

10 Most Bilingual Cities in the US (Most to Least)

• El Paso, Texas (39.44%)

• Los Angeles, California (33.46%)

• San Jose, California (32.93%)

• San Antonio, Texas (29.81%)

• New York, New York (26.03%)

• Houston, Texas (25.85%)

• San Diego, California (25.52%)

• Phoenix, Arizona (24.29%)

• San Francisco, California (23.33%)

• Dallas, Texas (21.99%)

10 Least Bilingual Cities in the US (Least to Most)

• Detroit, Michigan (6.34%)

• Indianapolis, Indiana (7.45%)

• Nashville, Tennessee (8.13%)

• Jacksonville, Florida (9.27%)

• Columbus, Ohio (9.63%)

• Washington D.C. (11.53%)

• Charlotte, North Carolina (11.78%)

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (11.84%)

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (12.61%)

• Seattle, Washington (13.51%)