President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order naming English the official language of the United States. The order revokes a Clinton-era order that required federal agencies to provide assistance in their programs for those with limited English proficiency.
A horizontal stacked bar chart showing that, in 2024, about half of U.S. adults said English should be the official language of the U.S.
Pew Research Center has not directly asked Americans about Trump’s March 1 order, but data from a survey conducted in August 2024 – before the presidential election – provides a sense of public opinion on the topic. About half of U.S. adults (51%) say it is extremely or very important for the U.S. to make English its official language, according to the Center survey conducted in August. Another 21% say it’s somewhat important to make English the national language.
Some U.S. adults are more likely than others to say English should be the national language. (This question was one of several about American values and identity. Read the “How we did this” box to learn more.)
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to examine U.S. adults’ views of English as the nation’s official language.
This analysis is based on a survey of 9,201 adults conducted from Aug. 5 to 11, 2024, about American values and identity. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.
The analysis also used the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) to provide national statistics on English proficiency and languages spoken at home among U.S. residents ages 5 and older. The 2023 ACS was provided through IPUMS from the University of Minnesota. Percentages on English proficiency do not sum to 100% due to rounding.
The term immigrants, when referring to survey respondents, includes those born outside the 50 U.S. States or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories. When referring to Census Bureau data, this group includes those who were not U.S. citizens at birth – in other words, those born outside the 50 U.S. states or D.C., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories to parents who were not U.S. citizens. Immigrant and foreign born are used interchangeably throughout this analysis.
The term U.S. born refers to people born in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories.
Second generation refers to people born in the U.S., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories with at least one immigrant parent.
Third or higher generation refers to people born in the U.S., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories to parents born in the U.S, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories.
Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.
Find answers to some common questions:
Partisanship
Horizontal stacked bar charts showing that, in 2024, Republicans and older adults were more likely to say English should be official U.S. language.
Most Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (73%) say it is extremely or very important to make English the national language, compared with 32% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. Meanwhile, 43% of Democrats say it is not at all or not too important for English to be the official language.
Race and ethnicity
White adults (57%) are more likely than Asian (47%), Black (45%) and Hispanic (36%) adults to say English should be the nation’s official language. Notably, 38% of Hispanic adults say it is not at all or not too important to make English the national language.
Age
Older adults are more likely than younger adults to say English should be the country’s official language. These differences remain regardless of race and ethnicity.
Place of birth
About half of those born in the U.S. (52%) and 46% of immigrants say English should be the country’s official language.
Additionally, there are differences among U.S.-born adults. Second-generation adults (36%) are less likely than either immigrants (46%) or those who are third generation or higher (54%) to say English should be the official language of the U.S. Second-generation adults are those born in the U.S. to at least one immigrant parent. Third or higher generation refers to those born in the U.S. to U.S.-born parents.
How many people in the U.S. speak English?
English is by far the most spoken language in the U.S. About three-quarters of those ages 5 and older (78%) speak only English at home. Another 14% speak a language other than English at home and indicate they speak English “very well,” according to Center analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS). And 9% of people 5 and older are not proficient in English.
The ACS asks all respondents ages 5 and older two questions about language. First, people are asked if they speak a language other than English at home. If they mention a language other than English, they are asked how well they speak English. Those who say they speak only English at home or speak English “very well” are considered proficient in English. Those who speak a language other than English at home and say they either do not speak English or speak it less than “very well” are considered not proficient.
About half of immigrants 5 and older living in the U.S. (53%) speak English proficiently, according to our analysis of ACS data.
How much does speaking English matter?
Nearly half of U.S. adults (46%) say it is very important to them that immigrants speak English fluently, according to the August survey.
In addition, over three-quarters of U.S. adults say that speaking English is key for being “truly” American, according to an April 2024 Center survey. Majorities of White (82%), Asian (78%), Hispanic (75%) and Black (72%) adults say this, as do immigrants (80%) and those born in the U.S. (79%). Republicans (92%) are overwhelmingly likely to say this, while a smaller majority of Democrats (67%) say the same.
How often do U.S. adults come in contact with immigrants who speak little or no English?
Eight-in-ten U.S. adults say they often or sometimes come in contact with immigrants who speak little or no English, according to the August survey. Among those who say this, 60% say these interactions do not bother them.
Diverging bar charts showing that, in 2024, a majority of U.S. adults who encountered immigrants with limited English-speaking skills said they were not bothered by this.
Partisanship
Republicans (83%) are somewhat more likely than Democrats (78%) to say they often or sometimes come in contact with immigrants who speak little or no English. Among those who say this, 56% of Republicans say these interactions bother them, while 76% of Democrats say they are not bothered.
Race and ethnicity
Hispanic adults (91%) are more likely than Black (79%), Asian (79%) and White (78%) adults to say they often or sometimes come in contact with immigrants who speak little or no English.
Most Hispanic (83%), Asian (76%) and Black (64%) adults who say this are not bothered by these interactions. White adults who say they have experienced this often or sometimes are divided: 50% say they are not bothered, while 49% say these interactions bother them.
Place of birth
Immigrants (87%) are more likely than those born in the U.S. (79%) to say they often or sometimes come in contact with immigrants who speak little or no English. Among those who say this, immigrants (79%) are more likely than those born in the U.S. (56%) to say these interactions do not bother them.
Among U.S.-born adults, 84% of second-generation adults and 79% of adults who are third or higher generation say they often or sometimes come in contact with an immigrant who speaks little or no English. Among those who say this, second-generation adults (77%) are more likely than third- or higher-generation adults (53%) to say these interactions do not bother them.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.