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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)

Olmsted County	167,442	4,193	378	79	1,014	6,338	498	1,058	773	5,169	5,384	802
Minnesota (in 000's)	5,840	149	55	3	30	230	37	36	21	191	160	40
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
Winona County	50,097	2,179	82	0	157	1,284	121	214	95	497	206	128
Goodhue County	48,345	1,272	523	36	121	1,186	393	44	113	407	220	101
Mower County	41,122	1,357	59	291	156	3,779	566	149	594	500	1,003	86
Dodge County	21,358	773	37	1	36	822	94	71	72	105	15	46
Wabasha County	21,692	705	30	4	116	457	88	26	20	60	26	8
Fillmore County	21,687	1,447	7	3	6	301	26	23	21	89	16	9

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Olmsted County	10.38	2.50	0.23	0.05	0.61	3.79	0.30	0.63	0.46	3.09	3.22	0.48
Minnesota	10.33	2.55	0.95	0.05	0.52	3.94	0.64	0.61	0.36	3.26	2.73	0.69
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
Winona County	14.61	4.35	0.16	0.00	0.31	2.56	0.24	0.43	0.19	0.99	0.41	0.26
Goodhue County	16.07	2.63	1.08	0.07	0.25	2.45	0.81	0.09	0.23	0.84	0.46	0.21
Mower County	10.89	3.30	0.14	0.71	0.38	9.19	1.38	0.36	1.44	1.22	2.44	0.21
Dodge County	15.79	3.62	0.17	0.00	0.17	3.85	0.44	0.33	0.34	0.49	0.07	0.22
Wabasha County	19.23	3.25	0.14	0.02	0.53	2.11	0.41	0.12	0.09	0.28	0.12	0.04
Fillmore County	17.83	6.67	0.03	0.01	0.03	1.39	0.12	0.11	0.10	0.41	0.07	0.04

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

Olmsted County		98.25	23.77	101.75	116.93	96.08	46.38	103.22	129.89	94.59	117.68	69.72
Minnesota		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		158.77	67.91	393.55	637.16	287.50	280.84	221.03	302.20	231.15	83.72	304.22
Winona County		170.66	17.24	0.00	60.51	65.06	37.67	69.79	53.35	30.40	15.05	37.19
Goodhue County		103.23	113.93	160.59	48.33	62.27	126.78	14.87	65.76	25.80	16.65	30.41
Mower County		129.47	15.11	1,526.14	73.25	233.26	214.65	59.19	406.42	37.26	89.27	30.44
Dodge County		142.00	18.24	10.10	32.54	97.69	68.64	54.31	94.85	15.06	2.57	31.35
Wabasha County		127.52	14.57	39.77	103.25	53.48	63.27	19.58	25.94	8.48	4.39	5.37
Fillmore County		261.79	3.40	29.83	5.34	35.23	18.70	17.33	27.24	12.57	2.70	6.04

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

Olmsted County		61.88	35.01	25.85	18.35	33.42	16.52	46.70	42.98	40.92	140.56	22.92
Minnesota		62.98	147.26	25.41	15.69	34.78	35.61	45.24	33.09	43.26	119.45	32.87
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Winona County		107.49	25.39	0.00	9.50	22.63	13.41	31.57	17.66	13.15	17.98	12.22
Goodhue County		65.02	167.78	40.81	7.58	21.66	45.14	6.73	21.76	11.16	19.89	10.00
Mower County		81.55	22.25	387.79	11.50	81.13	76.43	26.78	134.49	16.12	106.63	10.01
Dodge County		89.44	26.87	2.57	5.11	33.98	24.44	24.57	31.39	6.52	3.07	10.30
Wabasha County		80.31	21.45	10.10	16.21	18.60	22.53	8.86	8.58	3.67	5.24	1.76
Fillmore County		164.88	5.01	7.58	0.84	12.25	6.66	7.84	9.02	5.44	3.23	1.99

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

Olmsted County	167,442	654	7,015	1,645	1,765	32,459	1,587	2,416	19,306	10,091	604	5,775
Minnesota (in 000's)	5,840	30	206	47	91	1,106	69	128	850	336	11	201
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
Winona County	50,097	121	1,707	354	833	14,027	539	3,035	5,926	3,245	19	1,368
Goodhue County	48,345	120	1,824	272	561	12,022	424	671	9,987	3,055	21	1,071
Mower County	41,122	75	1,345	365	504	7,636	130	328	5,918	2,197	4	965
Dodge County	21,358	226	857	152	275	5,006	126	215	3,935	1,220	14	654
Wabasha County	21,692	85	895	188	340	7,578	170	295	2,458	1,810	13	430
Fillmore County	21,687	45	843	455	124	5,083	89	205	5,602	1,241	39	483

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Olmsted County	10.38	0.39	4.19	0.98	1.05	19.39	0.95	1.44	11.53	6.03	0.36	3.45
Minnesota	10.33	0.52	3.53	0.81	1.56	18.94	1.18	2.18	14.55	5.75	0.19	3.44
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
Winona County	14.61	0.24	3.41	0.71	1.66	28.00	1.08	6.06	11.83	6.48	0.04	2.73
Goodhue County	16.07	0.25	3.77	0.56	1.16	24.87	0.88	1.39	20.66	6.32	0.04	2.22
Mower County	10.89	0.18	3.27	0.89	1.23	18.57	0.32	0.80	14.39	5.34	0.01	2.35
Dodge County	15.79	1.06	4.01	0.71	1.29	23.44	0.59	1.01	18.42	5.71	0.07	3.06
Wabasha County	19.23	0.39	4.13	0.87	1.57	34.93	0.78	1.36	11.33	8.34	0.06	1.98
Fillmore County	17.83	0.21	3.89	2.10	0.57	23.44	0.41	0.95	25.83	5.72	0.18	2.23

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

Olmsted County		75.38	118.56	121.93	67.74	102.37	80.32	66.09	79.23	104.73	188.06	100.37
Minnesota		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		75.91	148.97	66.10	68.18	38.01	222.87	62.28	11.95	104.42	173.19	81.08
Winona County		46.61	96.42	87.70	106.85	147.86	91.18	277.50	81.28	112.57	19.77	79.47
Goodhue County		47.90	106.77	69.83	74.57	131.31	74.32	63.57	141.94	109.82	22.65	64.47
Mower County		35.20	92.56	110.16	78.76	98.06	26.79	36.54	98.89	92.85	5.07	68.29
Dodge County		204.22	113.55	88.33	82.74	123.77	49.99	46.11	126.60	99.27	34.17	89.11
Wabasha County		75.62	116.76	107.56	100.72	184.48	66.41	62.29	77.86	145.01	31.24	57.69
Fillmore County		40.05	110.00	260.39	36.74	123.77	34.78	43.30	177.49	99.45	93.75	64.81

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

Olmsted County		99.30	79.59	184.48	99.35	269.30	36.04	106.13	663.08	100.30	108.59	123.79
Minnesota		131.73	67.13	151.30	146.67	263.08	44.87	160.57	836.96	95.77	57.74	123.34
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Winona County		61.40	64.73	132.69	156.72	388.98	40.91	445.59	680.28	107.80	11.42	98.01
Goodhue County		63.10	71.67	105.65	109.37	345.46	33.35	102.08	1,188.02	105.17	13.08	79.51
Mower County		46.37	62.13	166.67	115.52	257.97	12.02	58.67	827.64	88.92	2.93	84.23
Dodge County		269.01	76.23	133.64	121.36	325.61	22.43	74.04	1,059.55	95.07	19.73	109.90
Wabasha County		99.62	78.38	162.74	147.73	485.32	29.80	100.03	651.66	138.87	18.04	71.15
Fillmore County		52.75	73.84	393.96	53.89	325.61	15.60	69.53	1,485.53	95.23	54.14	79.94

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

Olmsted County	167,442	2,039	537	170	394	1,742	2,345	2,560	838	1,331	17,588	28,895
Minnesota (in 000's)	5,840	31	14	4	16	30	56	50	96	21	564	931
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
Winona County	50,097	123	75	52	87	39	186	180	359	119	3,129	9,611
Goodhue County	48,345	28	6	13	84	24	41	52	116	41	3,455	10,041
Mower County	41,122	147	141	5	41	172	166	1,504	31	19	4,230	6,659
Dodge County	21,358	0	16	1	29	0	2	18	45	11	1,469	5,015
Wabasha County	21,692	11	21	3	10	11	6	9	42	5	1,292	4,480
Fillmore County	21,687	33	47	1	8	3	8	0	2	13	833	4,582

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Olmsted County	10.38	1.22	0.32	0.10	0.24	1.04	1.40	1.53	0.50	0.79	10.50	17.26
Minnesota	10.33	0.54	0.24	0.08	0.28	0.51	0.97	0.85	1.64	0.36	9.67	15.94
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
Winona County	14.61	0.25	0.15	0.10	0.17	0.08	0.37	0.36	0.72	0.24	6.25	19.18
Goodhue County	16.07	0.06	0.01	0.03	0.17	0.05	0.08	0.11	0.24	0.08	7.15	20.77
Mower County	10.89	0.36	0.34	0.01	0.10	0.42	0.40	3.66	0.08	0.05	10.29	16.19
Dodge County	15.79	0.00	0.07	0.00	0.14	0.00	0.01	0.08	0.21	0.05	6.88	23.48
Wabasha County	19.23	0.05	0.10	0.01	0.05	0.05	0.03	0.04	0.19	0.02	5.96	20.65
Fillmore County	17.83	0.15	0.22	0.00	0.04	0.01	0.04	0.00	0.01	0.06	3.84	21.13

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

Olmsted County		225.91	136.38	134.51	83.86	205.43	145.03	178.82	30.53	223.14	108.68	108.27
Minnesota		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		241.10	372.94	306.03	160.04	110.04	164.48	55.98	21.85	157.89	142.64	93.22
Winona County		45.55	63.66	137.52	61.89	15.37	38.45	42.02	43.72	66.68	64.62	120.37
Goodhue County		10.74	5.28	35.63	61.92	9.80	8.78	12.58	14.64	23.81	73.94	130.31
Mower County		66.32	145.81	16.11	35.53	82.59	41.80	427.78	4.60	12.97	106.43	101.60
Dodge County		0.00	31.86	6.20	48.39	0.00	0.97	9.86	12.85	14.46	71.16	147.32
Wabasha County		9.41	41.17	18.32	16.43	10.01	2.86	4.85	11.81	6.47	61.63	129.58
Fillmore County		28.23	92.16	6.11	13.15	2.73	3.82	0.00	0.56	16.83	39.74	132.56

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

Olmsted County		93.70	36.57	43.95	52.40	186.68	88.17	319.43	139.73	141.33	76.19	116.14
Minnesota		41.48	26.81	32.68	62.49	90.88	60.80	178.63	457.65	63.34	70.11	107.27
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Winona County		18.89	17.07	44.94	38.67	13.97	23.38	75.07	200.08	42.23	45.30	129.12
Goodhue County		4.46	1.42	11.64	38.69	8.91	5.34	22.47	66.99	15.08	51.84	139.79
Mower County		27.51	39.10	5.26	22.20	75.05	25.42	764.14	21.05	8.21	74.61	108.99
Dodge County		0.00	8.54	2.03	30.24	0.00	0.59	17.61	58.83	9.16	49.89	158.03
Wabasha County		3.90	11.04	5.99	10.27	9.10	1.74	8.67	54.06	4.10	43.20	139.00
Fillmore County		11.71	24.71	2.00	8.21	2.48	2.32	0.00	2.57	10.66	27.86	142.20

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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