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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)

Macomb County	892,716	23,248	1,721	210	4,262	18,107	1,147	1,864	1,796	92,908	10,128	6,183
Michigan (in 000's)	10,189	362	46	3	80	410	30	24	33	889	246	208
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
Wayne County	1,781,913	38,324	4,125	310	18,432	84,297	5,447	3,862	5,165	418,731	128,077	113,811
Oakland County	1,307,660	36,356	2,367	338	10,066	40,472	3,256	4,827	4,536	117,404	27,248	23,821
St. Clair County	160,931	6,918	496	12	669	4,185	148	27	603	2,342	685	598
Lapeer County	89,731	4,916	249	8	729	3,108	157	193	212	830	58	52

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Macomb County	8.19	2.60	0.19	0.02	0.48	2.03	0.13	0.21	0.20	10.41	1.13	0.69
Michigan	8.33	3.56	0.45	0.03	0.78	4.02	0.29	0.23	0.32	8.73	2.41	2.04
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
Wayne County	10.11	2.15	0.23	0.02	1.03	4.73	0.31	0.22	0.29	23.50	7.19	6.39
Oakland County	7.48	2.78	0.18	0.03	0.77	3.09	0.25	0.37	0.35	8.98	2.08	1.82
St. Clair County	12.02	4.30	0.31	0.01	0.42	2.60	0.09	0.02	0.37	1.46	0.43	0.37
Lapeer County	12.74	5.48	0.28	0.01	0.81	3.46	0.17	0.22	0.24	0.92	0.06	0.06

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

Macomb County		73.23	42.88	92.90	61.14	50.47	43.57	89.52	62.38	119.25	47.04	33.92
Michigan		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		113.79	143.43	720.69	422.60	281.82	610.65	580.03	333.03	86.44	94.86	102.36
Wayne County		60.48	51.49	68.71	132.47	117.70	103.66	92.92	89.87	269.26	298.05	312.80
Oakland County		78.18	40.26	102.08	98.58	77.01	84.43	158.25	107.55	102.87	86.41	89.21
St. Clair County		120.88	68.56	29.45	53.24	64.70	31.19	7.19	116.18	16.67	17.65	18.20
Lapeer County		154.06	61.73	35.21	104.04	86.18	59.33	92.21	73.26	10.60	2.68	2.84

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

Macomb County		64.35	29.90	12.89	14.47	17.91	7.13	15.43	18.73	137.96	49.60	33.14
Michigan		87.88	69.72	13.88	23.66	35.48	16.38	17.24	30.03	115.69	105.42	97.69
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Wayne County		53.15	35.90	9.53	31.35	41.77	16.97	16.02	26.99	311.51	314.21	305.59
Oakland County		68.70	28.07	14.16	23.33	27.32	13.83	27.28	32.30	119.02	91.09	87.16
St. Clair County		106.23	47.80	4.09	12.60	22.96	5.11	1.24	34.89	19.29	18.61	17.78
Lapeer County		135.39	43.04	4.89	24.62	30.58	9.72	15.90	22.00	12.26	2.83	2.77

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

Macomb County	892,716	10,043	37,900	4,766	22,336	91,444	62,605	76,265	8,869	55,234	1,180	51,266
Michigan (in 000's)	10,189	95	629	272	203	1,112	275	465	212	694	17	398
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
Wayne County	1,781,913	10,350	52,067	5,561	20,047	85,757	41,283	70,594	13,065	78,937	2,456	56,288
Oakland County	1,307,660	12,061	78,705	8,334	22,504	114,828	46,448	64,862	21,736	96,390	3,212	70,051
St. Clair County	160,931	3,478	10,905	1,395	6,473	26,755	6,173	11,514	2,463	15,457	258	5,406
Lapeer County	89,731	1,449	7,823	1,038	2,697	13,868	2,468	5,168	1,511	8,944	87	3,456

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Macomb County	8.19	1.12	4.25	0.53	2.50	10.24	7.01	8.54	0.99	6.19	0.13	5.74
Michigan	8.33	0.93	6.17	2.67	1.99	10.91	2.70	4.56	2.08	6.81	0.17	3.91
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
Wayne County	10.11	0.58	2.92	0.31	1.13	4.81	2.32	3.96	0.73	4.43	0.14	3.16
Oakland County	7.48	0.92	6.02	0.64	1.72	8.78	3.55	4.96	1.66	7.37	0.25	5.36
St. Clair County	12.02	2.16	6.78	0.87	4.02	16.63	3.84	7.15	1.53	9.60	0.16	3.36
Lapeer County	12.74	1.61	8.72	1.16	3.01	15.46	2.75	5.76	1.68	9.97	0.10	3.85

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

Macomb County		120.89	68.78	20.03	125.46	93.86	259.83	187.33	47.66	90.84	77.05	147.02
Michigan		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		42.27	85.28	19.98	53.20	65.96	97.44	29.81	83.42	88.21	193.65	71.33
Wayne County		62.42	47.34	11.71	56.41	44.10	85.84	86.87	35.18	65.04	80.35	80.87
Oakland County		99.11	97.51	23.91	86.30	80.47	131.60	108.76	79.75	108.22	143.19	137.14
St. Clair County		232.24	109.78	32.52	201.69	152.34	142.12	156.88	73.43	141.01	93.46	86.00
Lapeer County		173.53	141.24	43.40	150.72	141.62	101.90	126.29	80.79	146.34	56.52	98.60

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

Macomb County		286.01	80.65	100.25	235.82	142.30	266.65	628.35	57.13	102.97	39.79	206.12
Michigan		236.58	117.26	500.54	187.96	151.60	102.63	335.43	119.87	113.36	51.64	140.20
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Wayne County		147.67	55.51	58.60	106.04	66.86	88.09	291.39	42.17	73.73	41.49	113.38
Oakland County		234.49	114.34	119.67	162.20	121.99	135.06	364.83	95.59	122.68	73.94	192.27
St. Clair County		549.44	128.73	162.77	379.11	230.96	145.85	526.23	88.02	159.85	48.26	120.57
Lapeer County		410.54	165.62	217.22	283.29	214.71	104.58	423.61	96.84	165.89	29.19	138.24

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

Macomb County	892,716	3,404	5,773	323	1,680	2,607	19,457	1,912	5,059	34,134	101,804	133,081
Michigan (in 000's)	10,189	57	25	14	28	20	151	20	21	180	1,143	1,828
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
Wayne County	1,781,913	6,658	4,499	1,403	2,281	2,281	40,370	1,743	4,369	82,389	200,476	178,458
Oakland County	1,307,660	18,664	6,175	7,292	9,430	3,062	57,133	2,690	3,268	33,714	174,992	181,418
St. Clair County	160,931	143	190	11	45	24	192	55	121	957	13,071	39,162
Lapeer County	89,731	44	85	16	30	13	53	30	53	222	6,583	23,581

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Macomb County	8.19	0.38	0.65	0.04	0.19	0.29	2.18	0.21	0.57	3.82	11.40	14.91
Michigan	8.33	0.56	0.25	0.13	0.28	0.19	1.48	0.20	0.21	1.77	11.22	17.94
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
Wayne County	10.11	0.37	0.25	0.08	0.13	0.13	2.27	0.10	0.25	4.62	11.25	10.01
Oakland County	7.48	1.43	0.47	0.56	0.72	0.23	4.37	0.21	0.25	2.58	13.38	13.87
St. Clair County	12.02	0.09	0.12	0.01	0.03	0.01	0.12	0.03	0.08	0.59	8.12	24.33
Lapeer County	12.74	0.05	0.09	0.02	0.03	0.01	0.06	0.03	0.06	0.25	7.34	26.28

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

Macomb County		68.07	260.37	27.04	67.53	150.44	146.84	109.03	275.02	216.51	101.64	83.09
Michigan		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		232.02	353.11	172.65	161.15	287.09	107.01	243.66	173.82	31.85	122.87	82.82
Wayne County		66.71	101.66	58.85	45.94	65.94	152.63	49.80	118.99	261.81	100.27	55.82
Oakland County		254.81	190.13	416.81	258.79	120.63	294.36	104.72	121.28	145.99	119.27	77.33
St. Clair County		15.86	47.54	5.11	10.03	7.68	8.04	17.40	36.49	33.67	72.39	135.64
Lapeer County		8.75	38.14	13.33	12.00	7.46	3.98	17.02	28.66	14.01	65.39	146.48

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

Macomb County		29.34	73.74	15.66	41.91	52.40	137.22	44.75	158.22	679.80	82.72	100.33
Michigan		43.10	28.32	57.92	62.06	34.83	93.45	41.04	57.53	313.99	81.38	120.75
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Wayne County		28.75	28.79	34.09	28.51	22.97	142.64	20.44	68.46	822.03	81.61	67.40
Oakland County		109.82	53.84	241.42	160.59	42.02	275.08	42.98	69.78	458.38	97.07	93.37
St. Clair County		6.84	13.46	2.96	6.23	2.68	7.51	7.14	20.99	105.73	58.91	163.78
Lapeer County		3.77	10.80	7.72	7.45	2.60	3.72	6.99	16.49	43.99	53.21	176.87

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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