–

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)

Wayne County	90,544	5,204	165	13	2,426	1,266	158	529	154	1,201	460	491
New York (in 000's)	20,115	518	52	6	2,088	479	430	646	294	1,381	559	777
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
Monroe County	750,927	23,332	1,276	183	57,183	4,791	2,898	3,779	3,004	66,283	20,124	20,148
Ontario County	113,234	4,441	179	23	3,917	1,243	449	182	251	1,222	526	634
Cayuga County	75,118	3,647	219	50	1,252	385	406	234	339	1,430	496	500
Seneca County	33,167	1,578	134	3	643	268	82	206	185	1,012	109	153

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Wayne County	10.76	5.75	0.18	0.01	2.68	1.40	0.17	0.58	0.17	1.33	0.51	0.54
New York	6.60	2.58	0.26	0.03	10.38	2.38	2.14	3.21	1.46	6.86	2.78	3.86
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
Monroe County	7.89	3.11	0.17	0.02	7.61	0.64	0.39	0.50	0.40	8.83	2.68	2.68
Ontario County	10.73	3.92	0.16	0.02	3.46	1.10	0.40	0.16	0.22	1.08	0.46	0.56
Cayuga County	11.31	4.86	0.29	0.07	1.67	0.51	0.54	0.31	0.45	1.90	0.66	0.67
Seneca County	11.35	4.76	0.40	0.01	1.94	0.81	0.25	0.62	0.56	3.05	0.33	0.46

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

Wayne County		223.18	69.90	47.84	25.81	58.70	8.16	18.18	11.62	19.33	18.27	14.04
New York		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		157.13	247.33	608.04	31.79	475.52	84.18	42.11	73.38	109.91	82.27	54.13
Monroe County		120.65	65.18	81.20	73.36	26.79	18.04	15.66	27.33	128.60	96.38	69.48
Ontario County		152.29	60.64	67.68	33.33	46.09	18.54	5.00	15.14	15.72	16.71	14.50
Cayuga County		188.52	111.83	221.79	16.06	21.52	25.26	9.70	30.83	27.74	23.75	17.24
Seneca County		184.74	154.97	30.14	18.68	33.92	11.56	19.33	38.11	44.45	11.82	11.95

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

Wayne County		142.03	28.26	7.87	81.19	12.34	9.69	43.18	15.84	17.58	22.21	25.95
New York		63.64	40.43	16.45	314.54	21.03	118.80	237.47	136.27	90.99	121.56	184.75
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Monroe County		76.78	26.35	13.35	230.76	5.63	21.43	37.20	37.24	117.01	117.15	128.37
Ontario County		96.92	24.52	11.13	104.83	9.69	22.02	11.88	20.64	14.31	20.31	26.79
Cayuga County		119.98	45.21	36.48	50.51	4.52	30.01	23.02	42.02	25.24	28.86	31.85
Seneca County		117.57	62.66	4.96	58.75	7.13	13.73	45.91	51.93	40.45	14.37	22.07

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

Wayne County	90,544	899	8,743	5,754	1,576	11,948	7,652	2,239	854	8,560	32	1,966
New York (in 000's)	20,115	79	645	94	183	968	1,341	460	136	1,255	57	809
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
Monroe County	750,927	4,300	46,291	7,253	7,817	68,043	78,349	18,580	6,453	64,209	1,835	26,125
Ontario County	113,234	863	13,434	2,981	1,946	14,831	10,210	2,783	1,860	13,716	203	3,504
Cayuga County	75,118	505	8,060	1,206	1,537	7,119	7,500	2,995	869	10,544	83	2,354
Seneca County	33,167	128	3,512	746	515	4,103	3,245	651	470	3,899	82	684

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Wayne County	10.76	0.99	9.66	6.35	1.74	13.20	8.45	2.47	0.94	9.45	0.04	2.17
New York	6.60	0.39	3.21	0.47	0.91	4.81	6.67	2.29	0.67	6.24	0.28	4.02
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
Monroe County	7.89	0.57	6.16	0.97	1.04	9.06	10.43	2.47	0.86	8.55	0.24	3.48
Ontario County	10.73	0.76	11.86	2.63	1.72	13.10	9.02	2.46	1.64	12.11	0.18	3.09
Cayuga County	11.31	0.67	10.73	1.61	2.05	9.48	9.98	3.99	1.16	14.04	0.11	3.13
Seneca County	11.35	0.39	10.59	2.25	1.55	12.37	9.78	1.96	1.42	11.76	0.25	2.06

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

Wayne County		252.44	300.94	1,366.20	190.83	274.08	126.76	108.04	139.75	151.52	12.46	54.01
New York		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		100.01	164.06	114.49	116.32	149.51	39.45	59.40	257.63	96.30	117.09	69.31
Monroe County		145.59	192.12	207.65	114.13	188.21	156.49	108.11	127.32	137.04	86.14	86.54
Ontario County		193.77	369.75	565.97	188.42	272.05	135.24	107.38	243.38	194.13	63.19	76.98
Cayuga County		170.93	334.41	345.15	224.33	196.84	149.75	174.20	171.40	224.96	38.95	77.95
Seneca County		98.12	330.01	483.55	170.24	256.95	146.74	85.76	209.96	188.41	87.15	51.30

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

Wayne County		252.42	183.43	1,193.30	164.06	183.32	321.34	181.88	54.24	157.34	10.64	77.93
New York		99.99	60.95	87.34	85.97	66.88	253.51	168.34	38.81	103.84	85.40	144.28
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Monroe County		145.58	117.11	181.37	98.12	125.88	396.72	181.99	49.42	142.31	73.56	124.87
Ontario County		193.76	225.38	494.34	161.98	181.96	342.85	180.77	94.47	201.59	53.97	111.07
Cayuga County		170.91	203.83	301.47	192.85	131.66	379.64	293.25	66.53	233.61	33.26	112.48
Seneca County		98.11	201.15	422.35	146.35	171.86	372.01	144.37	81.49	195.65	74.43	74.02

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

Wayne County	90,544	174	52	14	50	56	74	100	103	277	7,610	19,744
New York (in 000's)	20,115	771	126	41	141	33	601	76	82	159	2,450	2,376
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
Monroe County	750,927	7,252	1,332	495	2,590	2,488	11,143	3,163	1,729	5,312	81,676	101,491
Ontario County	113,234	261	87	94	326	57	440	130	94	514	8,850	22,983
Cayuga County	75,118	90	64	30	32	15	76	17	92	97	6,128	16,747
Seneca County	33,167	38	45	6	21	0	77	17	43	60	3,081	7,371

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Wayne County	10.76	0.19	0.06	0.02	0.06	0.06	0.08	0.11	0.11	0.31	8.40	21.81
New York	6.60	3.83	0.62	0.21	0.70	0.17	2.99	0.38	0.41	0.79	12.18	11.81
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
Monroe County	7.89	0.97	0.18	0.07	0.34	0.33	1.48	0.42	0.23	0.71	10.88	13.52
Ontario County	10.73	0.23	0.08	0.08	0.29	0.05	0.39	0.11	0.08	0.45	7.82	20.30
Cayuga County	11.31	0.12	0.09	0.04	0.04	0.02	0.10	0.02	0.12	0.13	8.16	22.29
Seneca County	11.35	0.11	0.14	0.02	0.06	0.00	0.23	0.05	0.13	0.18	9.29	22.22

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

Wayne County		5.01	9.20	7.53	7.89	37.15	2.74	29.28	27.79	38.76	69.00	184.61
New York		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		33.91	140.52	112.42	64.18	334.75	53.20	126.88	87.50	71.27	113.18	125.79
Monroe County		25.20	28.42	32.08	49.30	199.02	49.70	111.66	56.25	89.63	89.29	114.42
Ontario County		6.01	12.31	40.40	41.15	30.24	13.01	30.43	20.28	57.51	64.16	171.83
Cayuga County		3.13	13.65	19.44	6.09	11.99	3.39	6.00	29.92	16.36	66.97	188.74
Seneca County		2.99	21.74	8.80	9.05	0.00	7.78	13.59	31.67	22.92	76.26	188.15

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

Wayne County		14.79	6.55	6.69	12.30	11.10	5.15	23.08	31.76	54.39	60.96	146.76
New York		294.91	71.16	88.96	155.80	29.87	187.98	78.82	114.29	140.32	88.36	79.50
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Monroe County		74.31	20.23	28.54	76.81	59.45	93.43	88.00	64.29	125.77	78.89	90.96
Ontario County		17.74	8.76	35.94	64.11	9.03	24.46	23.99	23.18	80.70	56.69	136.61
Cayuga County		9.22	9.71	17.29	9.49	3.58	6.37	4.73	34.19	22.96	59.17	150.05
Seneca County		8.82	15.47	7.83	14.10	0.00	14.62	10.71	36.20	32.16	67.38	149.58

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

Advertisers