#25 most spoken · language profile
Tamil in the United States
An estimated 335,489 people aged 5 and older speak Tamil at home across U.S. metropolitan areas. About 14.4% of them, roughly 48,417 people, speak English less than "very well." Interpreter demand is highest where the limited-English population is largest, such as Hartford, where about 20.7% of Tamil speakers report speaking English less than "very well."
Where Tamil is spoken: top metro areas
Ranked by number of speakers at home. 131 additional metro areas have Tamil 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 | 31,639 ±3K | 17.4% | 14.8–20% |
| 2 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 26,551 ±3K | 15.3% | 12.5–18.2% |
| 3 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 22,598 ±2K | 13.7% | 11.3–16.1% |
| 4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 21,028 ±2K | 9.5% | 7.7–11.3% |
| 5 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 14,991 ±2K | 13.5% | 10.7–16.2% |
| 6 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 13,913 ±2K | 12.1% | 9–15.2% |
| 7 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 12,354 ±2K | 11.4% | 8.8–13.9% |
| 8 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 11,874 ±1K | 14.1% | 10.7–17.4% |
| 9 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 10,337 ±2K | 12.7% | 9.1–16.3% |
| 10 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 10,269 ±2K | 13.4% | 7.9–18.8% |
| 11 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 9,191 ±1K | 19.8% | 14.5–25.1% |
| 12 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 8,747 ±1K | 13.8% | 10–17.7% |
| 13 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 8,705 ±1K | 15.2% | 11.2–19.3% |
| 14 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 7,088 ±1K | 12.3% | 7.6–17.1% |
| 15 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 6,381 ±1K | 19% | 12.7–25.3% |
| 16 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 5,538 ±1K | 20.7% | 15.3–26.2% |
| 17 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | 5,334 ±1K | 16.4% | 10.9–21.8% |
| 18 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 5,282 ±1K | not reliable | — |
| 19 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 4,958 ±1K | not reliable | — |
| 20 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 3,531 ±846 | 17.6% | 11–24.1% |
| 21 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 3,202 ±780 | 8.4% | 4.8–12.1% |
| 22 | Pittsburgh, PA | 3,201 ±989 | not reliable | — |
| 23 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 2,955 ±820 | not reliable | — |
| 24 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 2,928 ±722 | not reliable | — |
| 25 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 2,895 ±967 | 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 Tamil 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 Tamil in the United States?
- An estimated 335,489 people aged 5 and older speak Tamil at home across U.S. metropolitan areas, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey.
- What share of Tamil speakers have limited English proficiency?
- About 14.4 percent, roughly 48,417 people, report speaking English less than "very well." That is the population professional interpreters serve.
- Which U.S. metro area has the most Tamil speakers?
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, with about 31,639 Tamil speakers at home.
- Where is Tamil interpreter demand highest?
- Demand tracks the size of the limited-English population. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT stands out, where about 20.7 percent of Tamil speakers report speaking English less than "very well."