Data visualization helps you see an overview and better understand your data. A histogram sorts data into “buckets” of closely related values rather than by unique values. It helps you understand the dynamics, trends, and relationships among data sets and draw meaningful inferences, such as the outliers in the data, the span of the data, and more. Google Sheets features an easy-to-use, built-in histogram graphing tool. This guide shows you how to use it to make a histogram in Google Sheets.
Making a Histogram in Google Sheets
To make a histogram in Google Sheet, follow these steps:
- Highlight the data you want to include in the histogram.
Select the range you want to convert into a histogram. - From the Insert menu, select the Chart option.
Choose the Chart option from the Insert menu. - You will notice a chart appear on the worksheet. On the right-hand side, a Chart editor will appear.
Histogram from the selected range Make sure the chart type is Histogram chart.
Chart Type should be Histogram chart.
Customizing a Histogram in Google Sheets
You can customize the histogram by left-clicking on the three-dotted vertical button on the top-right corner of the chart and selecting Edit Chart. On the right side, a Chart editor will appear.
Chart and Axis titles
The chart title tells us what the chart is, while axes titles are used to categorize the data. To add them, follow these steps:
- On the Chart editor, click on the Customize section.
Click on the Customize Section. - Under the “Chart & axis titles” section, choose:
Chart title: to add a chart title
Chart subtitle: to add another line of text beneath the chart title
Horizontal axis title: to add x-axis title
Vertical axis title: to add y-axis title
Choose where you want to add title text. - Under the “Title text” section, enter the title name.
Enter the title name in the Title text field.
Gridlines
By default, histograms on Google Sheets come with gridlines. To remove gridlines, go to the Chart editor. Under the “Customize” section, click on the Gridlines and ticks option. Uncheck the Major gridlines option.
Changing Bar Colors
To change the bar colors of the histogram, go to the Series section. Click on the Fill color dropdown and choose the color from the color palette.
