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      English Proficiency Data

      A summary of the Census English Proficiency Data specification.

      1.0 Introduction

      English Proficiency datasets are reported once per year by the United States Census. The data reflect persons' abilities to speak English. The data sets range from 2015 - to 2020 and have been aggregated to census tracts.

      Data reported by the US census, the measures for English speaking ability are in reference to the diversity of languages spoken within the United States. This data counts the population of English speaking sorted out by ability.

      English Proficiency Categories

      Across the United States, persons may speak many more languages outside of English. Collecting data on the ability level of speakers of English provides insights into the diversity of the United States.

      Metrics used to report on English language speaking abilities:

      • Very Well

      • Well

      • Not Well

      • Not at All

      • Native Speaker

      Census English Proficiency Parameters: Census.gov

      2.0 Data Specification

      The following table is the format in which downloaded Vehicle Availability data will be provided:

      Field

      Type

      Description

      geo_id

      String

      14-digit code relating the data to the correct geolocation.

      census_tract_code

      String

      The unique identifier provided by the US Census for each census tract.

      sub_category

      String

      Level of English speaking.

      unit

      String

      Total count of persons.

      value

      Float

      Number of persons fitting within survey criteria.

      year

      String

      Year data was collected.

      county_name

      String

      Name of the county that the census tract resides in.

      state_name

      String

      Name of the state that the census tract resides in.

      geometry

      String

      The GIS information required for the computer to read the mapping file.

      💡Tip: The “GEO.ID” field contains 14-digit codes that identify the summary level of data, the geographic component of the data, and FIPS codes that uniquely identify the data. For example, the 14-digit “GEO.ID” for Harris County, TX is “0500000US48201” where “050” represents the summary level of the data, “0000” represents the 2-digit geographic variant, and the 2-digit geographic component, “US” represents the United States, “48” represents the state of Texas and “201” represents Harris County.