Compare and rank
Cleveland dot plot (category comparison)
Positions one or more dots per category along a numeric scale.
- Plot
- Comparison
- Ranking
What it answers
How do category values or series positions compare?
- Shape
- Dots on a shared scale
- What it shows
- Small gaps, rank and multiple-series differences.
Example
The question
How do customer satisfaction scores compare across stores?
Customer satisfaction by store, 2025 (score out of 10)
Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.
When to use it
Use it when
Precise category comparisons, including nonzero ranges.
Avoid it when
When dots stand for frequencies rather than category summaries.
How to read it
Compare dot positions along the numeric axis within each labelled category.
Note
Not the same as the dot plot for distributions.
The data you need
- Layout
- Long table
- Fields
- Category or ordered position: text/date; Series: text; Value: number
- One row is
- One series value within one category or position. What is the grain?
- Rules
- Use one value per category-series pair after aggregation. Define category and series order.
- Optional
- Wide alternative: Category,North,South with one row per category.
- Preparation
- Validate the input grain and missing values. Use one value per category-series pair after aggregation. Define category and series order.
- Units
- Use the measured variable's stated unit consistently. No denominator is implied unless the value is a rate or proportion.
Worked example
Data A:30 and 45; B:34 and 40. Plot two dots per category. The gap is smaller for B.
| Category | Series | Value |
|---|---|---|
| A | North | 30 |
| A | South | 45 |
| B | North | 34 |
| B | South | 40 |