With the 2020 Census numbers starting to come out, it's interesting to look at what states are gaining (or losing) people. In this example, I create a custom map similar to the ones the US Census Bureau likes to use, and plot the 10-year change in population. But before we
The US 'midterm' elections have finally started to wind down, and we finally have some (mostly) finalized results to study. But what's the best way to visualize who won the US congressional seats in each of the 435 districts? Let's dive into this topic!... Preparation For starters, I couldn't find
The other day I was playing around with the voter registration data for all ~8 million registered voters in North Carolina (yes - this guy knows how to have fun!), and I got to wondering what last names were the most common. I summarized the data by county, and the
I attended the Scottish Highland Games this past weekend ... nearby in Scotland County, North Carolina! They put on a great event, with kilt-wearing Scotsmen throwing things, bands playing bagpipes, kids dancing, and clans sharing their family history. And to get into the mood for this event, I decided to
Many of the most beautiful areas in the US are owned by the government, to preserve them and allow access for everyone to enjoy them. And most US schools are traditionally closed during the summer, which provides families a great opportunity to go visit state and federal lands (parks, forests,
Showing the most popular jobs in each state is interesting (as I showed in my previous two blogs 1, 2) ... but not that interesting. How about something a little more quirky?!? ... Let's determine the most disproportionately popular job in each state! Their Map I got the idea for
Using small multiples is a neat way to display a lot of information in a small amount of space. But depending on how deeply you want to analyze and scrutinize the data, you need to be careful in choosing just how small you make your small multiples. Let's look at
When I'm at a social gathering, someone always asks what type of work I do. I like to keep my social life separate from my work, therefore I usually give a vague answer such as "software" (and quickly change the topic). How vague or specific is your response? How vague
I can recognize several languages when I hear people speaking them (mostly because I lived in the Alexander International Dorm at NC State University). Therefore when I found a map of the most common languages spoken in each US state, it caught my attention, and I decided to try creating my
The United States declared independence in 1776, and we celebrate it on July 4th every year. But the land areas that make up the United States today weren't necessarily the same as they were back then. So I thought it would be interesting to create a map showing when each
In FiveThirtyEight's Significant Digits section, they recently mentioned that nine states could potentially have 50% or more females in their legislature after the upcoming election. My first thought - I need to see some graphs! They linked to a New York Times article that had some interesting graphs. There was
One of my favorite Eddie Murphy movies when I was growing up was Coming to America. And speaking of coming to America, there's been a lot in the news recently about people doing just that. So I thought I'd use my SAS skills to help people wanting to come to
I recently read an interesting article that claims "a single cremation emits as much carbon dioxide as a 1,000-mile car trip." This got me wondering about cremation data, and I ended up on the Wikipedia page about cremation rates. They had a map of the US cremation rates by state ... but the more
You've probably seen in the news that a volcano erupted in Guatemala recently. But do you really know much about this volcano, or even where it's located? Hopefully this blog post will get you up to speed on your volcanology! Pictures of a recent volcano erupting in Hawaii show slow-moving
Everything's big in Texas - at least that's what they say! Therefore let's have a bit of graphical fun, and use Texas as a unit of measure (let's call it a 'tex'). More on that later - but first, here's a picture of my friend Jennifer posing beside a rather
It looks like we've finally recovered from the Great Recession, and there are even claims of record-low unemployment in several U.S. states. Of course claims like that make my data-radar go off, and I wanted to see the numbers for myself. And it's a great excuse for me to create
Are you going to Denver, Colorado, and wondering what fun/interesting/eclectic things you can do there? Then this is the map for you! For the past couple of years, I've made maps of the city SAS Global Forum is in, pointing out some of the attractions that conference attendees might want
Do you procrastinate and find excuses to delay doing certain things, even when you know they really ought to be done? And you probably realize that starting those projects is usually the hardest part, eh? Well, I finally started converting hundreds of my SAS examples to use the new GfK maps,
For the past few years, I've been hearing from many news sources that Detroit is the most violent large city in the US. If the news is saying this, then the data should corroborate it, eh? Well, of course I decided to check for myself... When comparing crime data across
Data doesn't always have to be 'big data' to be interesting. For example, I recently ran across a small, but very interesting, database containing all of North Korea's missile tests. The data was a bit difficult to digest in the formats provided, therefore I decided to try my hand at
Amazon recently announced the 20 finalists in their search for a location to house their new 2nd headquarters (nicknamed 'hq2'). They showed a map on their web page, but I wanted to create my own map, with a few improvements ... Here's their official map. It's not terrible, but it
As marijuana has become legal in several states, it's been a frequent topic of interest in the news. And as with any interesting topic, I like to find useful ways to visually analyze the data. In this case, let's have a look at the price of marijuana, and how it
The first time I voted (back in the 1980s), I was very surprised that I didn't have to show any kind of identification. I assumed it was because I lived in a small North Carolina town of 300 people where "everybody knew everybody" ... but they told me that nobody
With the Christmas holiday approaching, I got to wondering what they call Santa in other countries. Of course, some countries don't celebrate Christmas - but most countries at least have some sort of "winter holiday," and most also have some tradition of gift-giving. So, I guess the better question might
Data with a geographic component begs to be mapped. That capability is now available to all SAS users. A new mapping procedure in the fifth maintenance release of 9.4 (SAS 9.4M5) allows any user to easily plot data on a map. Unlike previous mapping applications with SAS, the SGMAP procedure
If you're preparing a big Thanksgiving dinner, then you don't want to leave out the most popular side dish, do you?!? But what is the most popular side dish? ... If you don't already know, then perhaps some data & analytics can help! But before we get started, here's a
One of the great things about living in an area that has seasons is you get to see the leaves change colors in the fall. If you're a big fan of seeing the leaves at their peak, you could actually travel around the country and see the leaves at their
If you plan to travel abroad and see the world, you'll need a passport. And, depending on several factors, you might also need travel visas. Which passports allow you to travel with the least amount of hassle (and the least amounts of visas)? Let's create a map to help you
In growing areas such as the Research Triangle Park, there is always the tough decision between developing land for business, or keeping it natural for parks and recreation. SAS is fortunate to have the great hiking trails at Umstead Park just across the road to the north - it's the
Orbitz recently published a map showing the most popular international travel destination for each of the 50 US states. It was an interesting map ... but of course, me being the Graph Guy, I had to pick it apart and create my own version. Follow along, and explore this interesting
