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Ancestry refers to the lineage or descent of a person, family, or group, tracing back through generations to identify their origins, heritage, and familial connections. It encompasses the genetic, cultural, and historical ties that link individuals to their forebears, shaping their identity and sense of belonging. Ancestry is a multifaceted concept, intertwining biology, genealogy, history, and culture, and it plays a significant role in how people understand themselves and their place in the world.

At its core, ancestry is rooted in genetics. Each individual inherits a unique combination of DNA from their parents, who in turn inherited their DNA from their own ancestors. This genetic material carries information about physical traits, predispositions to certain health conditions, and even behavioral tendencies. Advances in genetic testing, such as DNA analysis, have made it possible for individuals to trace their biological ancestry with remarkable precision. Companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA offer services that analyze genetic markers to provide insights into a person's ethnic composition and geographic origins, often revealing surprising connections to distant relatives or previously unknown heritage.

Beyond genetics, ancestry is deeply tied to genealogy, the study of family history and lineage. Genealogical research involves constructing family trees, documenting relationships, and uncovering historical records such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, census data, and immigration documents. This process often reveals stories of migration, resilience, and adaptation, offering a window into the lives of ancestors and the challenges they faced. For many, genealogy is a way to honor their forebears and preserve their legacy for future generations.

Cultural ancestry is another critical dimension, encompassing the traditions, languages, customs, and values passed down through generations. It connects individuals to their ethnic or national heritage, shaping their cultural identity and worldview. For example, someone with Irish ancestry might celebrate St. Patrick's Day, learn traditional Irish dance, or explore the Gaelic language, while someone with Japanese ancestry might practice tea ceremonies, study calligraphy, or observe Obon festivals. Cultural ancestry fosters a sense of continuity and belonging, linking individuals to a broader community with shared experiences and values.

Historical ancestry delves into the broader context of a family's or group's past, including significant events, social conditions, and historical movements that shaped their lives. For instance, the transatlantic slave trade, the Irish Potato Famine, or the Jewish diaspora have profoundly influenced the ancestry of millions of people, leaving lasting imprints on their descendants' identities. Understanding historical ancestry often involves grappling with complex narratives of triumph and tragedy, resilience and oppression, and the interplay of individual and collective experiences.

Ancestry also has a deeply personal and emotional dimension. For many, exploring their ancestry is a journey of self-discovery, offering insights into who they are and where they come from. It can foster a sense of pride, connection, and continuity, as well as a deeper appreciation for the struggles and achievements of those who came before. At the same time, it can raise questions about identity, belonging, and the complexities of heritage, particularly for individuals with mixed or multicultural backgrounds.

In a globalized world, ancestry serves as a bridge between the past and the present, connecting individuals to their roots while also highlighting the interconnectedness of human history. It underscores the diversity and richness of human experience, reminding us that every person's story is part of a larger tapestry woven over centuries. Whether through genetic testing, genealogical research, cultural practices, or historical exploration, ancestry offers a profound way to understand ourselves and our place in the world.

A diversification score measures the diversity of ancestries in the county. As the value appoaches 100, ancestry diversity decreases and therefore increasing the risk of a lack of cultural diversity. The ancestry diversification score for this county is:

Most common ancestry not including "Unknown" is:

Ancestry Report Part I
Description	Total Population	American	Native American	Hawaiian	Caribbean (Latino)	Mexican	Central American	South American	Other Hispanic	African American	Sub- Saharan	Caribbean (Black)

Custer County	5,553	269	42	0	7	107	0	0	41	4	0	2
Colorado (in 000's)	6,016	160	33	9	65	991	53	50	159	141	58	31
National (in 000's)	343,251	13,890	2,213	626	11,327	38,879	6,181	4,644	3,687	25,893	7,852	7,174
Pueblo County	169,895	3,393	1,169	132	1,942	46,654	680	455	20,503	1,944	524	507
Fremont County	49,725	1,659	655	27	313	2,417	25	173	3,299	1,450	186	188
Saguache County	6,579	112	86	3	12	1,451	28	0	823	32	0	0
Huerfano County	6,715	121	72	0	10	1,067	0	1	1,049	10	9	8

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Custer County	14.53	4.84	0.76	0.00	0.13	1.93	0.00	0.00	0.74	0.07	0.00	0.04
Colorado	9.73	2.65	0.55	0.15	1.08	16.47	0.87	0.83	2.65	2.34	0.97	0.52
National	7.83	4.05	0.64	0.18	3.30	11.33	1.80	1.35	1.07	7.54	2.29	2.09
Pueblo County	14.42	2.00	0.69	0.08	1.14	27.46	0.40	0.27	12.07	1.14	0.31	0.30
Fremont County	13.17	3.34	1.32	0.05	0.63	4.86	0.05	0.35	6.63	2.92	0.37	0.38
Saguache County	11.44	1.70	1.31	0.05	0.18	22.06	0.43	0.00	12.51	0.49	0.00	0.00
Huerfano County	12.70	1.80	1.07	0.00	0.15	15.89	0.00	0.01	15.62	0.15	0.13	0.12

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Custer County		182.64	137.33	0.00	11.62	11.70	0.00	0.00	27.91	3.07	0.00	6.92
Colorado		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		152.57	117.07	122.83	304.21	68.76	205.89	163.63	40.60	321.91	236.79	401.61
Pueblo County		75.30	124.93	52.30	105.37	166.71	45.76	32.39	456.14	48.83	31.93	57.34
Fremont County		125.79	239.17	36.55	58.03	29.51	5.75	42.08	250.76	124.44	38.72	72.65
Saguache County		64.18	237.35	30.69	16.81	133.90	48.66	0.00	472.82	20.76	0.00	0.00
Huerfano County		67.94	194.68	0.00	13.73	96.47	0.00	1.80	590.46	6.35	13.87	22.89

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Custer County		119.71	117.30	0.00	3.82	17.01	0.00	0.00	68.74	0.95	0.00	1.72
Colorado		65.54	85.42	81.41	32.87	145.43	48.57	61.11	246.32	31.06	42.23	24.90
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Pueblo County		49.35	106.71	42.58	34.64	242.44	22.23	19.79	1,123.57	15.17	13.48	14.28
Fremont County		82.45	204.29	29.76	19.07	42.91	2.79	25.72	617.69	38.66	16.35	18.09
Saguache County		42.07	202.73	24.99	5.53	194.72	23.63	0.00	1,164.67	6.45	0.00	0.00
Huerfano County		44.53	166.29	0.00	4.51	140.29	0.00	1.10	1,454.43	1.97	5.86	5.70

Ancestry Report Part II
Description	Total Population	Canadian	British	Dutch	French	German	Italian	Polish	Scandinavian	Scotish/ Irish	Spanish	Other European

Custer County	5,553	26	559	48	108	865	154	104	206	596	4	288
Colorado (in 000's)	6,016	20	406	42	68	579	144	70	179	419	85	217
National (in 000's)	343,251	1,350	18,069	1,828	3,642	24,708	9,027	4,667	5,969	20,625	1,140	9,563
Pueblo County	169,895	163	5,623	430	1,108	8,557	4,704	837	2,102	6,708	5,451	3,229
Fremont County	49,725	165	3,770	480	650	4,809	1,255	409	1,603	3,706	836	1,280
Saguache County	6,579	25	342	36	93	592	69	96	178	572	193	213
Huerfano County	6,715	14	334	53	58	509	198	25	80	265	305	157

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Custer County	14.53	0.47	10.07	0.86	1.94	15.58	2.77	1.87	3.71	10.73	0.07	5.19
Colorado	9.73	0.33	6.75	0.70	1.13	9.62	2.40	1.16	2.98	6.97	1.41	3.61
National	7.83	0.39	5.26	0.53	1.06	7.20	2.63	1.36	1.74	6.01	0.33	2.79
Pueblo County	14.42	0.10	3.31	0.25	0.65	5.04	2.77	0.49	1.24	3.95	3.21	1.90
Fremont County	13.17	0.33	7.58	0.97	1.31	9.67	2.52	0.82	3.22	7.45	1.68	2.57
Saguache County	11.44	0.38	5.20	0.55	1.41	9.00	1.05	1.46	2.71	8.69	2.93	3.24
Huerfano County	12.70	0.21	4.97	0.79	0.86	7.58	2.95	0.37	1.19	3.95	4.54	2.34

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Custer County		142.24	149.23	123.18	171.84	161.94	115.74	161.75	124.66	154.03	5.13	143.64
Colorado		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		119.50	78.04	75.89	93.74	74.83	109.76	117.42	58.43	86.23	23.64	77.16
Pueblo County		29.15	49.06	36.07	57.62	52.36	115.56	42.55	41.58	56.66	228.33	52.64
Fremont County		100.81	112.39	137.56	115.50	100.54	105.33	71.04	108.33	106.96	119.64	71.29
Saguache County		115.44	77.06	77.98	124.90	93.55	43.77	126.02	90.92	124.77	208.77	89.67
Huerfano County		63.34	73.74	112.47	76.32	78.80	123.06	32.15	40.04	56.63	323.23	64.75

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Custer County		119.03	191.23	162.31	183.31	216.40	105.45	137.75	213.34	178.62	21.68	186.15
Colorado		83.68	128.14	131.77	106.68	133.63	91.11	85.17	171.14	115.97	423.01	129.59
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Pueblo County		24.39	62.87	47.53	61.47	69.97	105.28	36.24	71.15	65.71	965.85	68.22
Fremont County		84.36	144.03	181.26	123.21	134.35	95.97	60.50	185.39	124.04	506.11	92.39
Saguache County		96.61	98.75	102.75	133.24	125.01	39.88	107.32	155.60	144.70	883.11	116.20
Huerfano County		53.00	94.49	148.21	81.41	105.30	112.12	27.38	68.51	65.68	1,367.32	83.92

Ancestry Report Part III
Description	Total Population	Chinese	Filipino	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	South Central Asian	South East Asian	Other Asian	Middle Eastern	Other Ancestry	Unknown

Custer County	5,553	0	18	4	0	0	23	0	0	3	468	1,607
Colorado (in 000's)	6,016	36	21	12	23	27	44	19	17	23	872	945
National (in 000's)	343,251	4,461	3,010	793	1,541	1,913	5,452	1,643	1,229	1,931	47,322	51,000
Pueblo County	169,895	168	343	162	190	99	230	93	180	150	26,630	24,835
Fremont County	49,725	54	0	22	26	105	12	7	129	69	5,175	14,771
Saguache County	6,579	0	58	0	0	0	0	3	1	7	807	747
Huerfano County	6,715	0	0	0	0	0	17	0	6	8	925	1,414

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Custer County	14.53	0.00	0.32	0.07	0.00	0.00	0.41	0.00	0.00	0.05	8.43	28.94
Colorado	9.73	0.59	0.34	0.20	0.38	0.45	0.73	0.31	0.29	0.38	14.50	15.70
National	7.83	1.30	0.88	0.23	0.45	0.56	1.59	0.48	0.36	0.56	13.79	14.86
Pueblo County	14.42	0.10	0.20	0.10	0.11	0.06	0.14	0.05	0.11	0.09	15.67	14.62
Fremont County	13.17	0.11	0.00	0.04	0.05	0.21	0.02	0.01	0.26	0.14	10.41	29.71
Saguache County	11.44	0.00	0.88	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.05	0.02	0.11	12.27	11.35
Huerfano County	12.70	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.25	0.00	0.09	0.12	13.78	21.06

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Custer County		0.00	94.85	35.33	0.00	0.00	57.00	0.00	0.00	14.15	58.13	184.30
Colorado		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		219.60	256.63	113.28	118.98	124.27	218.57	153.69	123.71	147.32	95.09	94.62
Pueblo County		16.71	59.08	46.76	29.63	12.99	18.63	17.58	36.60	23.13	108.11	93.09
Fremont County		18.35	0.00	21.70	13.85	47.09	3.32	4.52	89.61	36.35	71.78	189.18
Saguache County		0.00	257.97	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	14.64	5.25	27.87	84.60	72.31
Huerfano County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	34.84	0.00	30.86	31.20	95.01	134.10

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

Custer County		0.00	36.96	31.19	0.00	0.00	26.08	0.00	0.00	9.61	61.13	194.77
Colorado		45.54	38.97	88.28	84.05	80.47	45.75	65.07	80.83	67.88	105.16	105.68
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Pueblo County		7.61	23.02	41.28	24.90	10.46	8.52	11.44	29.58	15.70	113.69	98.38
Fremont County		8.36	0.00	19.15	11.64	37.89	1.52	2.94	72.43	24.67	75.49	199.93
Saguache County		0.00	100.52	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	9.53	4.24	18.92	88.97	76.42
Huerfano County		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	15.94	0.00	24.95	21.18	99.92	141.72

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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