#71 most spoken · language profile
Swedish in the United States
An estimated 48,559 people aged 5 and older speak Swedish at home across U.S. metropolitan areas. About 8.1% of them, roughly 3,955 people, speak English less than "very well." Interpreter demand is highest where the limited-English population is largest, such as New York, where about 5.9% of Swedish speakers report speaking English less than "very well."
Where Swedish is spoken: top metro areas
Ranked by number of speakers at home. 100 additional metro areas have Swedish 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 | 5,553 ±977 | 5.9% | 3.4–8.5% |
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3,556 ±670 | not reliable | — |
| 3 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 1,999 ±440 | not reliable | — |
| 4 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 1,944 ±820 | not reliable | — |
| 5 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 1,736 ±425 | not reliable | — |
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 1,717 ±380 | not reliable | — |
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 1,686 ±447 | not reliable | — |
| 8 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 1,368 ±438 | not reliable | — |
| 9 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 1,321 ±364 | not reliable | — |
| 10 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 1,041 ±509 | not reliable | — |
| 11 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 952 ±292 | not reliable | — |
| 12 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 935 ±240 | not reliable | — |
| 13 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 925 ±369 | not reliable | — |
| 14 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 763 ±240 | not reliable | — |
| 15 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 740 ±358 | not reliable | — |
| 16 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 711 ±329 | not reliable | — |
| 17 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 711 ±202 | not reliable | — |
| 18 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 694 ±342 | not reliable | — |
| 19 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 612 ±239 | not reliable | — |
| 20 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 580 ±251 | not reliable | — |
| 21 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 451 ±207 | not reliable | — |
| 22 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 377 ±160 | not reliable | — |
| 23 | Provo-Orem, UT | 289 ±143 | not reliable | — |
| 24 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 272 ±117 | not reliable | — |
| 25 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 233 ±94 | 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 Swedish in the United States?
- An estimated 48,559 people aged 5 and older speak Swedish at home across U.S. metropolitan areas, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey.
- What share of Swedish speakers have limited English proficiency?
- About 8.1 percent, roughly 3,955 people, report speaking English less than "very well." That is the population professional interpreters serve.
- Which U.S. metro area has the most Swedish speakers?
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, with about 5,553 Swedish speakers at home.
- Where is Swedish interpreter demand highest?
- Demand tracks the size of the limited-English population. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA stands out, where about 5.9 percent of Swedish speakers report speaking English less than "very well."