#76 most spoken · language profile
Afrikaans in the United States
An estimated 37,902 people aged 5 and older speak Afrikaans at home across U.S. metropolitan areas. About 11.1% of them, roughly 4,216 people, speak English less than "very well."
37,902
Speakers age 5 and older
11.1%
Limited English
15
Metro areas with reliable counts
Where Afrikaans is spoken: top metro areas
Ranked by number of speakers at home. 113 additional metro areas have Afrikaans speakers but did not meet Census reliability standards and are not listed.
| # | Metro area | Speakers (± margin) | Limited English | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 2,277 ±791 | not reliable | — |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 1,863 ±639 | not reliable | — |
| 3 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 1,544 ±542 | not reliable | — |
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 1,497 ±598 | not reliable | — |
| 5 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 1,227 ±522 | not reliable | — |
| 6 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 1,093 ±469 | not reliable | — |
| 7 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 892 ±364 | not reliable | — |
| 8 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 831 ±359 | not reliable | — |
| 9 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 782 ±373 | not reliable | — |
| 10 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 746 ±334 | not reliable | — |
| 11 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 578 ±220 | not reliable | — |
| 12 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 544 ±248 | not reliable | — |
| 13 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 504 ±226 | not reliable | — |
| 14 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 411 ±192 | not reliable | — |
| 15 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 401 ±190 | not reliable | — |
Limited English means speaking English less than "very well." Margins of error are at the 90 percent confidence level. "Range" is the 90 percent confidence interval for the limited-English share.
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Frequently asked questions
- How many people speak Afrikaans in the United States?
- An estimated 37,902 people aged 5 and older speak Afrikaans at home across U.S. metropolitan areas, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey.
- What share of Afrikaans speakers have limited English proficiency?
- About 11.1 percent, roughly 4,216 people, report speaking English less than "very well." That is the population professional interpreters serve.
- Which U.S. metro area has the most Afrikaans speakers?
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA, with about 2,277 Afrikaans speakers at home.