Also known as a Dot Plot, Dot Graph, Dot Chart.
A Cleveland Dot Plot is a simple form of data visualisation that plots dots to compare the values of a one-dimensional variable across multiple categories. On a Cleveland Dot Plot, one axis will list the categories, while the other axis represents a discrete value scale.
A Cleveland Dot Plot serves as an alternative to a Bar Chart and offers a some advantages such as: reduced visual clutter, no need to start from zero, easier value comparison and pattern identification.
These plots are particularly effective for displaying smaller datasets with a moderate number of categories.
Tools that can create a Cleveland Dot Plot:
Datawrapper
Datylon
Flourish
plotly (Python)
ggplot2 / R
R w/ dotchart
Vega-Lite
Vizzlo
Examples of Cleveland Dot Plots
Dot Plot, Make Vs Avg. Mileage.
Top 50 ggplot2 Visualizations – The Master List (With Full R Code) — r-statistics.co by Selva Prabhakaran
![Cleveland Dot Plot](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_1.png)
Figure 6.11: Life expectancies of countries in the Americas, for the year 2007.
Visualizing amounts, 6.3 Dot plots and heatmaps — Fundamentals of Data Visualization, Claus O. Wilke
![Cleveland Dot Plot](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_2.png)
Murder arrests by state, 1973.
Chapter 4. Dot Charts, Graphing Data with R by John Jay Hilfiger
![Cleveland Dot Plot](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_3.png)
What sort of people would party members want to see more of in the Commons.
Datawrapper
![Cleveland Dot Plot](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_4.png)
Mobile phones seen as better for individual users than society as a whole.
Majorities say mobile phones are good for society, even amid concerns about their impact on children — Pew Research Center
![Cleveland Dot Plot](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_5.png)
Global Ph.D.s Gender Gap (2010).
How Nations Fare in PhDs by Sex [Interactive] — Scientific American
![](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_6.png)
Comparison of life expectancies between 1952 and 2007.
Alternatives to paired bar charts — Albert Rapp
![](https://datavizcatalogue.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cleveland_dot_plot_7.png)
Related posts:
Chart Snapshot: Counts Plots
Chart Snapshot: Dumbbell Plots