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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

California ranks high in languages, housing costs, commutes | California Watch

California ranks high in languages, housing costs, commutes | California Watch

California ranks high in languages, housing costs, commutes

Ken Lund/Flickr

Data released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau show California leading the nation in at least two areas: linguistic diversity and housing costs. The state also ranks highly in longest commute times.

In California, 43.1 percent of residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home in 2009 – the highest percentage of any state. Of those people, two out of three spoke Spanish. Nationwide, 20 percent spoke a foreign language at home, with 12.4 percent being Spanish.

Last year, the three priciest places to own a home in America were in California.