Almost 1 in 4 children in the United States speaks a language other than English at home, finds an analysis of national data compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Center.
In 2016, the number of emerging bilingual children rose to roughly 12 million, an increase of 1.2 million over the past decade. The Kids Count analysis examines the linguistic background of children between the ages of 5 and 17, finding that 22 percent do not speak English at home. That percentage has remained unchanged for five years, but the number of children who speak one language at home and another in school is growing.
