It May Shock You But Illinois is More Bilingual than Most States

When it comes to speaking multiple languages in the household Illinois is above the national average, are you bilingual?

According to the data out of the 2020 Census (to see the data from Census.gov click here!) Illinois is above the national average when it comes to the amount of languages spoken in one household.

The National Average for households that speak MORE then just English is 22%, but when it comes to the state of Illinois we are above the average at 23.3%. And while that number may not seem like a lot, it is still almost a quarter of households in the state of Illinois speaking multiple languages. As far as the other states in our Tri-State region, well Missouri comes in at a shockingly low 6.6% which is way below average, and Iowa comes in at 8.9% which is also well below national average.

The diversity in languages spoken in the state of Illinois compared to its western neighbors Iowa, and Missouri, I'm sure is influenced by the city of Chicago. Chicago is a giant international city with plenty of different cultures and languages, but it is still shocking to me that Missouri is behind Iowa, especially considering the fact that Missouri has Kansas City and St. Louis. I guess there just must not be as many languages spoken in those two cities, I can't see any other reason for the drastic difference in Illinois versus Missouri.

Speaking a second language has always been something I wish I was capable of, here in Quincy we have such a historic German area and heritage that maybe some of you out there speak German! If you could learn a second or third language what language would you choose?