#112 most spoken · language profile
Malay in the United States
An estimated 14,059 people aged 5 and older speak Malay at home across U.S. metropolitan areas. About 30.8% of them, roughly 4,325 people, speak English less than "very well."
14,059
Speakers age 5 and older
30.8%
Limited English
3
Metro areas with reliable counts
Where Malay is spoken: top metro areas
Ranked by number of speakers at home. 56 additional metro areas have Malay speakers but did not meet Census reliability standards and are not listed.
| # | Metro area | Speakers (± margin) | Limited English | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 1,287 ±441 | not reliable | — |
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 1,147 ±341 | not reliable | — |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 572 ±258 | 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.
Help Malay speakers be understood
Every dot on this map is a person who deserves to be understood. Medical, legal, and community interpreters turn that need into access. Training is how you start.
Frequently asked questions
- How many people speak Malay in the United States?
- An estimated 14,059 people aged 5 and older speak Malay at home across U.S. metropolitan areas, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey.
- What share of Malay speakers have limited English proficiency?
- About 30.8 percent, roughly 4,325 people, report speaking English less than "very well." That is the population professional interpreters serve.
- Which U.S. metro area has the most Malay speakers?
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, with about 1,287 Malay speakers at home.