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Bar charts consist of rectangles representing the values of different items or even the value of a metric over time. Bar charts are best used for comparison of the values of a certain metric over different items.
Google Sheets offers three types of bar charts: the simple bar chart, the stacked bar chart, and the 100% stacked bar chart. This tutorial is a straightforward guide on how to insert a bar chart in Google Sheets with some notes on the type of data that it requires.
How to format your data for a bar chart
The data for a simple bar chart needs to have the following columns:
- First column: the label for each bar
- Second column: the height (value) of each bar
Each data row corresponds to a bar in a bar chart.
For stacked bar charts, you need to have the following data columns:
- First column: bar labels
- Each succeeding column represents a bar in the chart, with each value for each row denoting the contribution of the row to the total bar
You can have grouped bars in a bar chart as well, by using the following scheme:
- First column: individual bar labels
- Each succeeding column represents a grouping of bars, and the last row of each column contains the total from that column
As you can see, this has the same data format as for the stacked bar charts. To get a grouped bar chart, select Bar chart as the chart type.
How to create a bar chart
Here are the steps in creating a bar chart from an existing dataset in Google Sheets:
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: The selected chart type is not a bar chart by default. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below the Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the Bar chart option and click it.
Step 4: We now have a bar chart. To add a title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor, then click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5: If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. In the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6: Here are some options in modifying the title of the chart:
- To change the font of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font. There are 12 fonts to choose from such as Arial, Georgia, and Verdana.
- To change the size of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font size. You can select from size 10 to 36 or specify a value beyond the given options. You can also choose Auto to let Google Sheets adjust the font size fit for the given chart.
- To center align the title, go to Title format, then click the Alignment option. Click the Center option.
We now have the following chart!
Check out our chart guide to learn how to add the title or axis labels, as well as how to change the colors.
How to create a stacked bar chart
Unlike the typical bar chart which we had in the previous section, a stacked bar chart also visualizes the components of a certain quantity, thus adding another dimension to your bar chart. This means that the dataset should have multiple columns.
Before you follow the steps, make sure that your data also contains the breakdown of the values of the components.
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: The selected chart type is not a bar chart by default. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below the Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the Stacked bar chart option and click it.
Step 4: We now have a bar chart. To add a title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor, then click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5: If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. In the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6: Here are some options for modifying the title of the chart:
- To change the font of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font. There are 12 fonts to choose from such as Arial, Georgia, and Verdana.
- To change the size of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font size. You can select from a range from 10 to 36 or specify a value beyond the given options. You can also choose Auto to let Google Sheets adjust the font size fit for the given chart.
- To center align the title, go to Title format and click the Alignment option. Then click the Center option.
We now have the following chart!
Check out our chart guide to learn how to add the title, axis labels, or change the colors.
How to create a 100% stacked bar chart
Sometimes you are not interested with the total quantity but with the differences in the composition of certain quantities, either over time or among different items. For this, a 100% stacked bar chart is sufficient. A 100% stacked bar chart only differs from a stacked bar chart visually: the stacked bars are of the same length. This highlights the differences in the composition of each stacked bar.
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: The selected chart type is not a bar chart by default. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below the Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the 100% stacked bar chart, and click it.
Step 4: We now have a bar chart. To add title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor, then click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5: If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. In the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6: Here are some options in modifying the title of the chart:
- To change the font of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font. There are 12 fonts to choose from such as Arial, Georgia, and Verdana.
- To change the size of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font size. You can select from a range of 10 to 36. You can specify a value beyond the given options. You can also choose Auto to let Google Sheets adjust the font size fit for the given chart.
- To center align the title, go to Title format, then click the Alignment option. Click the Center option.
We now have the following chart!
Check out our chart guide to learn how to add the title, axis labels, or change the colors.
How to create a grouped bar chart
There is a “hidden” type of bar chart in Google Sheets, which is the grouped bar chart. This is not explicitly listed under the Chart type option in the Chart editor.
Unlike a typical bar chart which we had in the previous section, a grouped bar chart groups together different but similar or related bars. This allows you to also make comparisons within these groups besides simply comparing the bars.
Before you follow the steps, make sure that your data also contains the breakdown of the values of the bars that you want to group together.
Step 1: Select the range of data that you want to visualize.
Step 2: Click Insert, then click Chart.
Step 3: The selected chart type is not a bar chart by default. On the right side, the Chart editor sidebar is loaded. Click the drop-down box below Chart type. A list of possible chart types will be loaded. Look for the Bar chart option and click it.
Step 4: We now have a grouped bar chart. To add a title to the chart, go to the Customize tab in the Chart editor and click Chart axis & titles.
Step 5: If you want to add a chart title, make sure that the drop-down box displays the option Chart title. On the text box below the drop-down box, type the title of the chart.
Step 6: Here are some options for modifying the title of the chart:
- To change the font of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font. There are 12 fonts to choose from such as Arial, Georgia, and Verdana.
- To change the size of the title, click the drop-down box below the label Title font size. You can select from a range of 10 to 36. You can also specify a value beyond the given options. Lastly, you can choose Auto to let Google Sheets adjust the font size fit for the given chart.
- To center align the title, go to Title format and click the Alignment option. Then click the Center option.
We now have the following chart!
How to switch the arrangement of the bars in the bar chart
As you can see, the years listed on the y-axis are listed with the earliest on the top down to the latest on the bottom. You can easily reverse that order. In the Chart editor sidebar, click Customize, then look down to find Vertical axis options. Click it. You will find the Reverse axis order checkbox. Tick it.
Here is the resulting bar chart:
The growth of the annual sales can be easily seen in this order.
A sample sheet to check
If you got a bit lost, or just want to check if you are doing it right, here is a sample sheet that you can open to see how they work:
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