PlotSet LogoPlotSet
All chart types

Choropleth Map Maker

Shade regions by value and let the geography carry the pattern. Upload a spreadsheet with a place column, pick your measure, and publish an interactive choropleth map you can embed anywhere, free.

Create a Choropleth Map (free)See the gallery

A live Choropleth Map, built in PlotSet

Not a screenshot. This is a real interactive chart, embedded exactly as yours would be.

Example: Share of the population using the internet

What is a Choropleth Map?

A choropleth map colours predefined geographic areas (countries, states, counties) by the value of a variable in each one. It is the standard way to show how something varies across places, and its strength is that readers already know the shape of the map, so they can find themselves in the data without a legend. Its structural weakness is equally fixed: area on a map reflects land size, not population or importance, so large sparse regions shout and small dense ones whisper.

When to use a Choropleth Map

  • Your data is naturally tied to places

    Election results, unemployment, broadband coverage, disease incidence. If every row is a country or a state, the map is doing real work.

  • You are showing a rate, share or density

    Percentages, per-capita figures and rates are the right measures for a choropleth because they are already adjusted for how big or populous each region is.

  • The geographic pattern is the point

    Clusters, borders and regional divides show up on a map and disappear in a table. If "where" is part of your finding, show a map.

  • Your audience knows the geography

    A map of US states works for a US audience because they can locate themselves instantly. That familiarity is the format's biggest advantage.

When not to use a Choropleth Map

  • You are mapping raw counts

    Totals track population, so a count map mostly redraws where people live. Convert to a rate or per-capita figure, or use sized symbols instead of shading.

  • The important regions are small

    City-states and small districts can be invisible at national scale while empty regions dominate the frame. A bar chart, or a cartogram, gives small places their due.

  • You need precise comparison between regions

    People read colour approximately. If the reader must rank regions or read exact values, pair the map with a sorted bar chart, or replace it with one.

  • You only have a handful of places

    Six countries do not need a world map. A sorted bar chart shows six values more precisely and in far less space.

How to make a Choropleth Map

From a spreadsheet to a published chart, step by step.

  1. 01Start from a map template
  2. 02Prepare a place column and a value column
  3. 03Upload or connect your data
  4. 04Choose a colour scale that matches the data
  5. 05Publish, embed or export
Read the full Choropleth Map guide

The parts of a Choropleth Map

Regions
The predefined geographic areas being shaded. Their boundaries come from the template, so the unit of analysis is fixed before you start.
Colour scale
The mapping from value to shade. Sequential for low-to-high quantities, diverging only when a meaningful midpoint exists.
Classification
How values are bucketed into shades: equal intervals, quantiles, or natural breaks. Different methods produce visibly different maps from identical data, so the choice is analytical, not cosmetic.
Legend
The key showing which shade means which range. A choropleth without one is decoration.
No-data colour
A distinct neutral, usually grey, for regions you have no value for. Without it, missing data reads as a low value.
Projection
How the globe is flattened. Every projection distorts something; the common web default exaggerates areas near the poles.

Common Choropleth Map mistakes

Mapping counts instead of rates

A map of totals is usually a map of population. Divide by population, area or another sensible denominator before shading.

Using a rainbow colour scale

Rainbow ramps have no natural order, so readers cannot tell which end is high. Use a single-hue sequential scale that runs light to dark.

Letting missing data look like zero

If no-data regions are shaded with the lightest colour on the scale, the map reports values you never had. Give them a distinct grey and label it.

Picking the classification that tells the best story

Switching between quantiles and equal intervals can make a pattern appear or vanish. Choose a method for a reason, then state which one you used.

Choropleth Map: common questions

Showing how a value varies across geographic areas by shading each region according to its number. It suits rates, shares and densities tied to countries, states or counties.

Make your Choropleth Map now

Free to start with 300+ templates. No credit card required.

Create a Choropleth Map (free)All chart types