#115 most spoken · language profile
Shona in the United States
An estimated 12,506 people aged 5 and older speak Shona at home across U.S. metropolitan areas. About 15% of them, roughly 1,880 people, speak English less than "very well."
12,506
Speakers age 5 and older
15%
Limited English
2
Metro areas with reliable counts
Where Shona is spoken: top metro areas
Ranked by number of speakers at home. 51 additional metro areas have Shona speakers but did not meet Census reliability standards and are not listed.
| # | Metro area | Speakers (± margin) | Limited English | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2,229 ±936 | not reliable | — |
| 2 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 581 ±272 | 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 Shona speakers be understood
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Frequently asked questions
- How many people speak Shona in the United States?
- An estimated 12,506 people aged 5 and older speak Shona at home across U.S. metropolitan areas, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey.
- What share of Shona speakers have limited English proficiency?
- About 15 percent, roughly 1,880 people, report speaking English less than "very well." That is the population professional interpreters serve.
- Which U.S. metro area has the most Shona speakers?
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, with about 2,229 Shona speakers at home.