• Home
  • Tools dropdown img
    • Spreadsheet Charts

      • ChartExpo for Google Sheets
      • ChartExpo for Microsoft Excel
    • Power BI Charts

      • Power BI Custom Visuals by ChartExpo
    • Word Cloud

  • Charts dropdown img
    • Chart Category

      • Bar Charts
      • Circle Graphs
      • Column Charts
      • Combo Charts
      • Comparison Charts
      • Line Graphs
      • PPC Charts
      • Sentiment Analysis Charts
      • Survey Charts
    • Chart Type

      • Box and Whisker Plot
      • Clustered Bar Chart
      • Clustered Column Chart
      • Comparison Bar Chart
      • Control Chart
      • CSAT Survey Bar Chart
      • CSAT Survey Chart
      • Dot Plot Chart
      • Double Bar Graph
      • Funnel Chart
      • Gauge Chart
      • Likert Scale Chart
      • Matrix Chart
      • Multi Axis Line Chart
      • Overlapping Bar Chart
      • Pareto Chart
      • Radar Chart
      • Radial Bar Chart
      • Sankey Diagram
      • Scatter Plot Chart
      • Slope Chart
      • Sunburst Chart
      • Tornado Chart
      • Waterfall Chart
      • Word Cloud
    • Google Sheets
      Microsoft Excel
  • Services
  • Pricing
  • Contact us
  • Blog
  • Support dropdown img
      • Gallery
      • Videos
      • Contact us
      • FAQs
      • Resources
    • Please feel free to contact us

      atsupport@chartexpo.com

Categories
All Data Visualizations Data Analytics Surveys
Add-ons/
  • Google Sheets
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Power BI
All Data Visualizations Data Analytics Surveys
Add-ons
  • Google Sheets
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Power BI

We use cookies

This website uses cookies to provide better user experience and user's session management.
By continuing visiting this website you consent the use of these cookies.

Ok

ChartExpo Survey



Home > Blog > Data Visualization

5 Best Graphs for Visualizing Categorical Data

A categorical variable (also known as a nominal variable) has two or more categories.

best graphs for categorical data

Here’s the twist.

There is no explicit ordering in the categories.

A binary data point such as a yes/no question is a categorical value with two variables: no and yes.

Hair color is a practical example of categorical data. This is because it has several categories, such as brunette, red, blonde, brown, gray, etc.).

There’s no agreed way to order the hair color from highest to lowest.

So, how do you analyze categorical data?

Well, one of the most straightforward analyses you can undertake is data visualization.

Some of the best graphs for categorical data include:

  • Treemap Chart
  • Sunburst Chart
  • Sankey Diagram
  • Stacked Bar Chart
  • Crosstab Chart

Well, Microsoft Excel has a sizable library of charts and graphs.

However, it lacks ready-made and insightful charts for visualizing categorical data.

So, how can you overcome this challenge?

Download and install a particular third-party application (add-in) if your goal is to get ready-to-use and easy-to-interpret graphs for visualizing categorical data.

Keep reading to discover more about this add-in.

In this blog, you’ll learn:

Table of Content:

  1. What are the Best Graphs for Categorical Data Visualization?
  2. What is Categorical Data Analysis?
  3. Examples of Categorical Data
  4. The Best Graph to Use To Display Categorical Data
  5. How to Represent Categorical Data?
  6. Wrap Up

What are the Best Graphs for Categorical Data Visualization?

Definition: The best graphs for categorical data visualization include bar charts, pie charts, column charts, stacked bar charts, dot plots, and frequency tables. They effectively display and compare the frequency or proportions of different categories.

What is Categorical Data Analysis?

Definition: Categorical data can easily be divided into groups. Some examples of categorical variables include age group, educational level, race, sex, etc.

Categorical data analysis involves extracting insights into categorical data sets. There are multiple ways of analyzing this data type e.g. funnel chart.

However, we recommend data storytelling through data visualization because it’s straightforward, especially if you have suitable charts.

Check out the example below.

Imagine you’ve conducted a survey that involved about 20 respondents. Let’s assume the details you asked for are hair and eye color.

The table below represents categorical data.

  Eye Color
Hair Color Blue Green Brown Black
Blonde 2 1 2 1
Red 1 1 2 0
Brown 1 0 4 2
Black 1 0 2 0

In the scenario above, the aggregate number of respondents with blue eyes, irrespective of hair color, is 5.

We can easily extract insights for now because the table is smaller. Imagine the table consisting of thousands of rows and columns of data.

How long would it take you to visualize this massive table?

Therefore, we recommend you use data visualization to save time and resources.

So, what are the best graphs for categorical data?

Stick around because this is the question we’ll address in the coming sections.

You don’t want to miss this.

Besides categorical data (also known as nominal), there’s also ordinal data type.

Ordinal data has a set order or scale to it.

Example of ordinal data.

Let us assume 100 respondents earning between $1000 to $10,000 monthly participated in a survey that measures the level of happiness.

A fresh graduate earning a salary of $3,000 per month may be on an 8/10 scale. Conversely, a father of 4 earning $7,000 may rate his happiness as 3/10.

Check out our easy-to-follow examples of categorical data.

Examples of Categorical Data

Some of the categorical data points include the following:

  • Survey on a topic
    • Do you have children? (Yes/No)
  • Motives for employees to work better:
    • Peer Motivation
    • To Be Recognized
    • Opportunities for Professional Growth
    • Work Culture
  • Motives for traveling
    • Leisure
    • Business Travel
    • To Visit Friends
  • Checking account location
    • California
    • Texas
    • Colorado
  • Educational level
    • Associate’s degree
    • Bachelor’s degree
    • Master’s degree
    • Doctoral Degree
  • Age group
    • Under 12 years old
    • 12-17 years old
    • 18-24 years old
    • 25-34 years old
    • 35-44 years old
  • Ethnicity
    • Hispanic
    • African American
    • Native American
    • Asian
  • Eye color
    • Green
    • Blue
    • Brown
    • Black

A categorical data with 2 possible values is called binary.

For example, “Do you have children?” (Yes/No).

In the coming section, we’ll unveil the best graph to use when showing categorical data.

The Best Graph to Use To Display Categorical Data

Some of the best graphs for showing categorical data include:

1. Treemap

best treemap graphs for categorical data

Treemaps are one of the best graphs for categorical data visualization.

The space within the chart is split up into rectangles sized and organized based on key data points.

The levels in the Treemap Graph are depicted as boxes containing other smaller boxes, with each box representing a categorical data point. Mekko charts, which also visually break down data into segments, can be used alongside Treemaps to provide an additional layer of insight.

To understand how to make a graph from a table, it’s helpful to visualize the data using these tools to gain a clearer perspective on the relationships between data points.

To generate ready-made Treemaps and Mekko charts, we suggest you use a game-changing tool (which we’ll talk about).

2. Sunburst Chart

best sunburst graphs for categorical data

Sunburst Chart is one of the best graphs for categorical data analysis.

It shows insights using a series of concentric rings, with each ring representing a specific data point, such as an IELTS band score. Each ring illustrates the part-to-whole relationship of a categorical data point relative to the parent ring.

Both Sunburst and Treemap charts are effective for visualizing categorical data; however, Sunburst visualization excels at demonstrating how a categorical data point is divided into its constituent variables.

More so, the easy-to-interpret chart uses a circular chart template to create an immersive experience, especially among your target audiences (and readers).

3. Sankey Chart

best sankey graphs for categorical data

A Sankey Diagram is one of the best graphs for categorical data visualization.

It uses node-to-node flows to show insights into measurable resources, such as money, energy, etc.

Besides, it uses colors to draw the attention of your readers (or audience) to the largest flows.

The wider the flow the larger the categorical data point. You can leverage this visualization to display insights into:

  • Energy efficiency
  • Marketing campaigns
  • Supply chain management
  • Production systems

4. Stacked Bar Char

best Stacked Bar graphs for categorical data

The Stacked Bar Chart is one of the best graphs for categorical data analysis.

You can use this visualization design to track the trends of categorical data points over time. Each bar is divided into several sub-bars arranged end to end.

It outdoes other charts in displaying part-to-whole relationships in variables.

It gets better.

The visualization is straightforward to read and interpret, and it can handle bulky data without clutter. Use a simple or clustered stacked bar chart to display how the composition of variables in your data changes over time.

5. Crosstab Chart

best crosstab graphs for categorical data

A Crosstab Chart is a form of hierarchical visualization.

It’s created by stacking bars on each other.

The chart is ideal for presenting hierarchical data. Each level is represented by a long bar.

While a Bar Chart can only represent a single dimension of your data, a Crosstab Graph in Excel can represent multiple dimensions at once.

Each box is subdivided into smaller bars organized hierarchically. You can easily point out the contribution of the smaller bars relative to the parent bars.

So, how can you access the best graphs for categorical data visualization- Treemap, Crosstab, Scatter plot graph, Stacked Bar, Sankey Chart?

Excel is one of the popular tools of visualization among business owners. However, it lacks ready-made charts for visualizing categorical data.

We’re not advising you to do away with Excel.

There’s an amazingly affordable tool that comes as an add-in you can easily install in Excel to access ready-to-go and easy-to-customize Excel graphs and charts like a Pyramid chart for visualizing categorical data.

The application is called ChartExpo.

What is ChartExpo?

ChartExpo is an add-in you can easily install in your Excel to access ready-made and visually appealing Charts.

Features and Benefits

  • You don’t need sophisticated design skills to generate insightful charts for your stories. Save time with this drag-and-drop application.
  • ChartExpo is a mere $10 a month after the end of the trial period. It’s cheaper than Starbucks.
  • ChartExpo comes with a free 7-day trial. Essentially, if you’re unsatisfied with the tool within a week, you’re free to opt-out.

In the coming section, we’ll show you how to visualize categorical data using ChartExpo.

You don’t want to miss it.

How to Represent Categorical Data?

This section will use a Crosstab Chart to visualize the data table below.

Example Data:

Cities Items Orders
Los Angeles Clothing 5118
Los Angeles Jewelry 5884
Los Angeles Watches 5028
Los Angeles Ceramics 3732
Chicago Clothing 3899
Chicago Jewelry 6478
Chicago Watches 6176
Chicago Ceramics 3983
Phoenix Clothing 6271
Phoenix Jewelry 6158
Phoenix Watches 4034
Phoenix Ceramics 5147
Miami Clothing 3770
Miami Jewelry 3356
Miami Watches 4108
Miami Ceramics 4659

To get started with ChartExpo in Excel, follow the steps below:

  • Open your Excel desktop application.
  • Open the worksheet and click the Insert button to access the My Apps option.
insert chartexpo in excel
  • Click the Insert button to initiate the ChartExpo engine.
open chartexpo in excel
  • Once ChartExpo is loaded, you will see a list of charts.
list of charts in excel
  • Look for the Crosstab Chart, and click on its icon to get started, as shown below.
search crosstab Chart in excel
  • Highlight your data and click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown below.
create crosstab Chart in excel
  • Check out the final chart below.
best charts for categorical data

Insights

  • Phoenix accounts for 29% of all items ordered by clients. And in Phoenix, clothing and jewelry are the best sellers.
  • Miami is the worst-performing and its worst-performing categories are jewelry and clothing.

FAQs:

What is categorical data used for?

You can use categorical data for survey storytelling.

Some examples of categorical variables include age group, educational level, race, sex, etc.

Categorical data analysis involves extracting insights into categorical data sets. There are multiple ways of analyzing this data type.

What graph is best for 2 categorical variables?

There’s no single best chart for visualizing categorical data variables. However, some of the best graphs for categorical data visualization include Treemap, Crosstab, Stacked Bar, and Sankey Chart.

These charts are amazingly easy to read and interpret. Besides, if you have gaming-changing tools, such as ChartExpo, you can access ready-made categorical-oriented charts.

What two graphs are typically used to display categorical data?

Bar charts and pie charts are typically used to display categorical data. Bar charts compare the frequency or count of categories using bars, while pie charts show the proportions of categories as segments of a circle.

Wrap Up

A categorical variable (also known as a nominal variable) has two or more categories. But there is no explicit ordering in the categories.

A binary data point such as a yes/no question is a categorical value with two variables: no and yes.

Hair color is a practical example of categorical data. This is because it has several categories, such as brunette, red, blonde, brown, gray, etc.

There’s no agreed way to order the hair color from highest to lowest.

One of the most straightforward analyses you can undertake is data visualization.

Some of the tested and proven charts for visualizing categorical data include:

  • Treemap Chart
  • Sunburst Chart
  • Sankey Chart
  • Stacked Bar Chart
  • Crosstab Chart

How much did you enjoy this article?

ExcelAd1
Start Free Trial!
122186

Related articles

next previous
Data Analytics29 min read

Variance Analysis Isn’t a Math Problem, It’s a Trust Problem

Variance analysis helps identify what went wrong, who owns it, and what to do next. Use it to drive decisions, not just reports. Learn more!

Data Visualization30 min read

Waterfall Chart: From Initial Value to Final Insight

A Waterfall chart shows how each step impacts the total. Use it to earn trust, clarify trends, and guide decisions—fast. Read on to get started!

Data Analytics10 min read

Supplier Comparison Template: Download It Now

A supplier comparison template streamlines vendor evaluation by comparing cost and quality. Click here to learn its benefits and how to analyze them.

Data Analytics32 min read

Ecommerce Analytics: How to Fix What It Often Gets Wrong

Ecommerce analytics often lead to mixed signals and costly misreads. Fix attribution gaps, align teams, and act on the right data. Get started now!

Data Analytics30 min read

When Sales Funnel Breaks: Failures, Fixes, & Funnel Debt

Is your sales funnel hiding costly gaps? Learn how pipeline stalls, false metrics, and handoff chaos could be draining revenue. Get started now!

ChartExpo logo

Turn Data into Visual
Stories

CHARTEXPO

  • Home
  • Gallery
  • Videos
  • Services
  • Pricing
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Sitemap

TOOLS

  • ChartExpo for Google Sheets
  • ChartExpo for Microsoft Excel
  • Power BI Custom Visuals by ChartExpo
  • Word Cloud

CATEGORIES

  • Bar Charts
  • Circle Graphs
  • Column Charts
  • Combo Charts
  • Comparison Charts
  • Line Graphs
  • PPC Charts
  • Sentiment Analysis Charts
  • Survey Charts

TOP CHARTS

  • Sankey Diagram
  • Likert Scale Chart
  • Comparison Bar Chart
  • Pareto Chart
  • Funnel Chart
  • Gauge Chart
  • Radar Chart
  • Radial Bar Chart
  • Sunburst Chart
  • see more
  • Scatter Plot Chart
  • CSAT Survey Bar Chart
  • CSAT Survey Chart
  • Dot Plot Chart
  • Double Bar Graph
  • Matrix Chart
  • Multi Axis Line Chart
  • Overlapping Bar Chart
  • Control Chart
  • Slope Chart
  • Clustered Bar Chart
  • Clustered Column Chart
  • Box and Whisker Plot
  • Tornado Chart
  • Waterfall Chart
  • Word Cloud
  • see less

RESOURCES

  • Blog
  • Resources
  • YouTube
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES

We wouldn't dream of spamming you or selling your info.

© 2025 ChartExpo, all rights reserved.