How do you read a stacked area chart?

In the stacked area chart, lines are plotted one at a time, with the height of the most recently-plotted group serving as a moving baseline. As such, the fully-stacked height of the topmost line will correspond to the total when summing across all groups.

What is a stacked area chart?

A stacked area chart is the extension of a basic area chart. It displays the evolution of the value of several groups on the same graphic.

How do I create a stacked area chart in R?

The chart is built using the geom_area() function….The data frame used as input to build a stacked area chart requires 3 columns:

1. x : numeric variable used for the X axis, often it is a time.
2. y : numeric variable used for the Y axis. What are we looking at?
3. group : one shape will be done per group.

What is the disadvantage of stacked area charts?

There’s nothing stopping us from breaking up this one graph into smaller individual graphs, one for each and also the total. The disadvantage here is that it’s not as easy to compare between the different groups, however we can make it easier by using the same axis scaling for the graphs for each individual group.

Is the stacked bar chart the same as the stacked area chart?

The stacked bar chart is very similar to the stacked area chart, just with bars instead of lines. Thus, many of the limitations of the stacked area chart also apply to the stacked bar chart. However, one advantage of stacked bars is that it is much easier to make a consistent judgment of value within each horizontal-axis bin.

How to make a stacked area chart in R?

The chart is built using the geom_area () function. The gallery offers a post dedicated to reordering with ggplot2. This step can be tricky but the code below shows how to: give a specific order with the factor () function.

How many columns are needed for stacked area chart?

The data frame used as input to build a stacked area chart requires 3 columns: x: numeric variable used for the X axis, often it is a time. y: numeric variable used for the Y axis. What are we looking at?

When to use a stacked area graph in Excel?

Stacked Area Graphs work best when we have multiple data series. When we need to point out each data series from the total. The entire graph represents the total of all the data plotted. Can show part to whole changes over time. Stacked Area Graphs also use the areas to convey whole numbers.