As of the census of 2000, the county had 458,336 people, 181,153 households, and 115,394 families. The population density was 587 people per square mile (227/km2). There were 196,633 housing units at an average density of 252 per square mile (97/km2). The county's racial makeup was 84.78% White, 9.38% African American, 0.86% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.89% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.44% of the population. About 17.5% were of Italian, 16.2% Irish, 12.4% German, 9.4% English, and 6.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000, and 91.4% spoke English, 2.4% Spanish and 1.1% Italian as their first language.