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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)

Socorro County	16,453	464	1,889	10	35	2,985	10	30	5,176	48	15	17
New Mexico (in 000's)	2,141	37	182	1	21	726	10	9	264	23	9	6
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
Valencia County	81,965	1,280	2,474	31	792	30,097	108	159	18,537	616	134	127
Lincoln County	20,142	1,518	429	9	31	5,512	0	11	946	76	17	4
Cibola County	26,575	207	11,122	7	55	4,004	106	8	4,345	331	32	34
Torrance County	16,171	795	277	3	155	3,819	77	71	2,729	157	20	17
Sierra County	11,308	620	114	7	44	2,315	2	0	884	25	9	10
Catron County	3,729	123	45	0	4	281	0	14	301	15	7	4

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Socorro County	18.47	2.82	11.48	0.06	0.21	18.14	0.06	0.18	31.46	0.29	0.09	0.10
New Mexico	17.06	1.72	8.51	0.07	0.98	33.92	0.48	0.44	12.33	1.09	0.43	0.28
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
Valencia County	21.86	1.56	3.02	0.04	0.97	36.72	0.13	0.19	22.62	0.75	0.16	0.15
Lincoln County	15.57	7.54	2.13	0.04	0.15	27.37	0.00	0.05	4.70	0.38	0.08	0.02
Cibola County	24.09	0.78	41.85	0.03	0.21	15.07	0.40	0.03	16.35	1.25	0.12	0.13
Torrance County	13.83	4.92	1.71	0.02	0.96	23.62	0.48	0.44	16.88	0.97	0.12	0.11
Sierra County	13.85	5.48	1.01	0.06	0.39	20.47	0.02	0.00	7.82	0.22	0.08	0.09
Catron County	13.67	3.30	1.21	0.00	0.11	7.54	0.00	0.38	8.07	0.40	0.19	0.11

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

Socorro County		163.67	134.86	90.24	21.70	53.49	12.54	41.50	255.18	26.83	21.24	36.91
New Mexico		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		234.85	7.57	270.94	336.70	33.39	371.51	307.90	8.71	693.85	533.04	746.68
Valencia County		90.63	35.46	56.15	98.59	108.25	27.18	44.15	183.45	69.13	38.10	55.35
Lincoln County		437.39	25.02	66.34	15.70	80.68	0.00	12.43	38.10	34.71	19.67	7.09
Cibola County		45.21	491.61	39.11	21.12	44.42	82.29	6.85	132.62	114.56	28.06	45.71
Torrance County		285.32	20.12	27.54	97.80	69.62	98.23	99.92	136.89	89.30	28.82	37.56
Sierra County		318.20	11.84	91.91	39.70	60.35	3.65	0.00	63.41	20.34	18.55	31.59
Catron County		191.43	14.18	0.00	10.94	22.22	0.00	85.44	65.48	37.00	43.74	38.32

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

Socorro County		69.69	1,780.61	33.31	6.45	160.18	3.38	13.48	2,928.96	3.87	3.99	4.94
New Mexico		42.58	1,320.30	36.91	29.70	299.48	26.92	32.48	1,147.78	14.41	18.76	13.39
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Valencia County		38.59	468.12	20.73	29.28	324.19	7.32	14.34	2,105.60	9.96	7.15	7.41
Lincoln County		186.24	330.32	24.49	4.66	241.61	0.00	4.04	437.27	5.00	3.69	0.95
Cibola County		19.25	6,490.70	14.43	6.27	133.02	22.15	2.23	1,522.23	16.51	5.26	6.12
Torrance County		121.49	265.66	10.17	29.05	208.50	26.44	32.45	1,571.20	12.87	5.41	5.03
Sierra County		135.49	156.35	33.92	11.79	180.74	0.98	0.00	727.83	2.93	3.48	4.23
Catron County		81.51	187.16	0.00	3.25	66.53	0.00	27.75	751.52	5.33	8.21	5.13

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

Socorro County	16,453	14	357	15	26	398	58	14	113	287	269	89
New Mexico (in 000's)	2,141	2	66	5	10	62	17	7	18	62	58	25
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
Valencia County	81,965	22	1,445	89	213	1,454	345	128	441	1,383	2,709	393
Lincoln County	20,142	2	1,437	55	185	1,252	183	57	152	1,314	148	352
Cibola County	26,575	16	323	36	63	336	61	9	166	408	639	134
Torrance County	16,171	37	787	26	77	634	127	31	119	783	580	99
Sierra County	11,308	6	796	53	94	809	237	58	166	637	200	193
Catron County	3,729	0	400	15	92	204	52	16	80	394	92	52

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Socorro County	18.47	0.09	2.17	0.09	0.16	2.42	0.35	0.09	0.69	1.74	1.63	0.54
New Mexico	17.06	0.10	3.08	0.24	0.46	2.91	0.78	0.33	0.82	2.89	2.71	1.17
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
Valencia County	21.86	0.03	1.76	0.11	0.26	1.77	0.42	0.16	0.54	1.69	3.31	0.48
Lincoln County	15.57	0.01	7.13	0.27	0.92	6.22	0.91	0.28	0.75	6.52	0.73	1.75
Cibola County	24.09	0.06	1.22	0.14	0.24	1.26	0.23	0.03	0.62	1.54	2.40	0.50
Torrance County	13.83	0.23	4.87	0.16	0.48	3.92	0.79	0.19	0.74	4.84	3.59	0.61
Sierra County	13.85	0.05	7.04	0.47	0.83	7.15	2.10	0.51	1.47	5.63	1.77	1.71
Catron County	13.67	0.00	10.73	0.40	2.47	5.47	1.39	0.43	2.15	10.57	2.47	1.39

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

Socorro County		82.21	70.36	37.47	34.05	83.09	45.12	25.46	83.43	60.28	60.42	46.12
New Mexico		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		380.03	170.69	218.89	228.59	247.24	336.63	406.83	211.23	207.63	12.28	237.54
Valencia County		25.93	57.17	44.63	55.99	60.93	53.88	46.73	65.36	58.31	122.14	40.88
Lincoln County		9.59	231.34	112.23	197.89	213.49	116.29	84.68	91.67	225.43	27.15	149.00
Cibola County		58.17	39.41	55.68	51.08	43.43	29.38	10.13	75.88	53.05	88.86	42.99
Torrance County		221.06	157.81	66.08	102.59	134.66	100.52	57.36	89.39	167.32	132.55	52.20
Sierra County		51.26	228.26	192.64	179.10	245.72	268.26	153.48	178.32	194.66	65.36	145.51
Catron County		0.00	347.83	165.33	531.57	187.90	178.49	128.39	260.61	365.11	91.18	118.89

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

Socorro County		21.63	41.22	17.12	14.89	33.61	13.40	6.26	39.50	29.03	492.18	19.42
New Mexico		26.31	58.58	45.69	43.75	40.45	29.71	24.58	47.34	48.16	814.58	42.10
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Valencia County		6.82	33.49	20.39	24.49	24.64	16.00	11.49	30.94	28.08	994.94	17.21
Lincoln County		2.52	135.53	51.27	86.57	86.35	34.55	20.81	43.40	108.57	221.19	62.72
Cibola County		15.31	23.09	25.44	22.34	17.56	8.73	2.49	35.92	25.55	723.84	18.10
Torrance County		58.17	92.45	30.19	44.88	54.47	29.86	14.10	42.32	80.58	1,079.71	21.97
Sierra County		13.49	133.72	88.01	78.35	99.39	79.69	37.73	84.42	93.75	532.43	61.26
Catron County		0.00	203.77	75.53	232.54	76.00	53.02	31.56	123.38	175.84	742.70	50.05

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

Socorro County	16,453	70	0	31	63	0	122	6	6	28	3,080	728
New Mexico (in 000's)	2,141	6	8	2	2	5	6	2	2	3	331	149
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
Valencia County	81,965	12	97	39	11	83	141	15	65	27	12,780	5,718
Lincoln County	20,142	2	0	15	5	0	41	35	25	20	4,549	1,760
Cibola County	26,575	17	63	3	4	42	11	3	40	3	3,135	812
Torrance County	16,171	56	0	5	0	0	0	15	2	21	2,836	1,816
Sierra County	11,308	0	40	2	0	0	0	13	13	20	2,847	1,094
Catron County	3,729	0	0	0	11	0	0	0	0	0	1,048	479

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Socorro County	18.47	0.43	0.00	0.19	0.38	0.00	0.74	0.04	0.04	0.17	18.72	4.42
New Mexico	17.06	0.28	0.39	0.08	0.10	0.25	0.30	0.10	0.11	0.15	15.48	6.97
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
Valencia County	21.86	0.01	0.12	0.05	0.01	0.10	0.17	0.02	0.08	0.03	15.59	6.98
Lincoln County	15.57	0.01	0.00	0.07	0.02	0.00	0.20	0.17	0.12	0.10	22.58	8.74
Cibola County	24.09	0.06	0.24	0.01	0.02	0.16	0.04	0.01	0.15	0.01	11.80	3.06
Torrance County	13.83	0.35	0.00	0.03	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.09	0.01	0.13	17.54	11.23
Sierra County	13.85	0.00	0.35	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.11	0.18	25.18	9.67
Catron County	13.67	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.29	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	28.10	12.85

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

Socorro County		150.86	0.00	229.07	383.27	0.00	244.84	35.54	33.06	110.31	120.95	63.45
New Mexico		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		460.84	223.94	280.83	449.47	220.87	524.46	466.43	324.66	364.59	89.07	213.06
Valencia County		5.19	30.22	57.85	13.43	40.13	56.80	17.83	71.88	21.35	100.74	100.04
Lincoln County		3.52	0.00	90.54	24.85	0.00	67.21	169.34	112.51	64.36	145.92	125.30
Cibola County		22.68	60.53	13.72	15.07	62.64	13.67	11.00	136.43	7.32	76.22	43.81
Torrance County		122.79	0.00	37.59	0.00	0.00	0.00	90.39	11.21	84.18	113.31	161.03
Sierra County		0.00	90.32	21.50	0.00	0.00	0.00	112.03	104.21	114.64	162.67	138.73
Catron County		0.00	0.00	0.00	295.26	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	181.58	184.20

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

Socorro County		32.74	0.00	81.57	85.27	0.00	46.69	7.62	10.18	30.26	135.79	29.78
New Mexico		21.70	44.66	35.61	22.25	45.28	19.07	21.44	30.80	27.43	112.27	46.94
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Valencia County		1.13	13.49	20.60	2.99	18.17	10.83	3.82	22.14	5.86	113.10	46.95
Lincoln County		0.76	0.00	32.24	5.53	0.00	12.82	36.31	34.65	17.65	163.82	58.81
Cibola County		4.92	27.03	4.89	3.35	28.36	2.61	2.36	42.02	2.01	85.57	20.56
Torrance County		26.65	0.00	13.39	0.00	0.00	0.00	19.38	3.45	23.09	127.21	75.58
Sierra County		0.00	40.33	7.66	0.00	0.00	0.00	24.02	32.10	31.44	182.62	65.11
Catron County		0.00	0.00	0.00	65.69	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	203.85	86.45

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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