Office of Language Access
Age Analysis Report of New Yorkers with LEP
The New York State Office of Language Access (OLA), housed within the Office of General Services, launched in October 2022. It provides critical oversight and coordination across New York State agencies to ensure that the New York State language access law is implemented efficiently and effectively. In its role to support covered executive agencies and to help advance language justice throughout the state, OLA creates resources to promote a deeper understanding of the population of New Yorkers with limited English proficiency (LEP). The age profile of this population is a question that comes up often.
Age data from the American Community Survey (ACS) updated in 2021 shows the age distribution within a demographic group to allow—in this case—language services providers to identify language needs, target outreach efforts, customize language resources and improve service delivery overall. Age-related factors such as technology proficiency may also influence the mode of language service delivery. The age variable specified in the ACS data is from five to 100 years. After consulting with executive agencies whose service delivery is closely tied to age group, OLA identified five age groups to analyze the data:
- 5-14 years old
- 15-24 years old
- 25-44 years old
- 45-60 years old
- Over 60 years old
This report, created in collaboration with the Office of General Services’ (OGS) Data Analytics Office and Digital and Media Services Center, analyzes the age groups represented by New Yorkers with LEP, taking a closer look by region, county and top languages spoken. A summary of conclusions is included below. To view the full report, download the PDF at the end of this section. For any questions about this report, contact OLA at [email protected].
Summary
- The largest age group of individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) is 25-44 years old (29% of the total NYS population with LEP).
- The five counties with the highest population with LEP are located in the New York City and Long Island regions and account for 76% of the total population with LEP in New York State:
1. Queens: 25.5% (636,627 people with LEP)
2. Kings: 21.9% (545,803 people with LEP)
3. Bronx: 14.1% (353,063 people with LEP)
4. Nassau: 8.9% (221,830 people with LEP)
5. New York: 5.9% (140,864 people with LEP)
- For the top five counties mentioned above, most of the individuals with LEP are in the 45-60 or over 60 years old age groups.
- Spanish, Chinese (including Cantonese, Mandarin, and other dialects) and Russian are among the top five languages spoken among all five age groups. Depending on age group, Yiddish, Bengali, Arabic, Korean, Haitian Creole or Italian round out the top five.
- The distribution by age groups among Spanish, Chinese and Russian are as follows:
- Spanish has the highest population with LEP for age group 25-44 years old followed by 45-60 years old, over 60 years old, 15-24 years old and 5-14 years old in decreasing order.
- Chinese has the highest population with LEP for age group over 60 years old followed by 45-60 years old, 25-44 years old, 15-24 years old and 5-14 years old in decreasing order.
- Russian has the highest population with LEP for age group over 60 years old followed by 45-60 years old, 25-44 years old, 5-14 years old and 15-24 years old in decreasing order.
- For each county, the most common languages are different for each age group.
- New York State executive agencies and language services providers can reference each region and county in this report to determine how to best deliver language services, including method most accessible to represented groups, such as telephonic lines for older populations or social media for younger populations.