Map (Beta)

Use maps to display geographic data on an interactive map.

See maps in action

Explore an interactive demo dashboard with scatter maps, area maps, and heatmaps.

Maps display geographic data on an interactive map. They support three visualization modes:

• Scatter - Plot individual points using latitude/longitude coordinates
• Area (Choropleth) - Color regions based on values
• Heatmap - Show density of points as a heat overlay

Maps are useful when:

• Visualizing geographic distribution of data
• Showing regional performance or metrics
• Displaying location-based patterns

Scatter maps

Scatter maps plot individual data points on a map using latitude and longitude coordinates. You can optionally size and color the points based on field values.

Data requirements

Your data must include latitude and longitude coordinates. If your data contains addresses instead of coordinates, you’ll need to geocode them to latitude/longitude values using a third-party geocoding service before using them in a map.

Layout options

Option	Description
Latitude field	Field containing latitude coordinates.
Longitude field	Field containing longitude coordinates.

Display options

Option	Description
Color based on	Field to determine point color. When set to a numeric field, displays a color gradient.
Color / Color range	Single color when no color field is selected, or gradient colors (2-5 colors) for numeric fields.
Size based on	Field to determine bubble size (optional).
Size / Size range	Fixed size when no size field is selected, or min/max range when sizing by a field.
Show legend	Toggle legend visibility.
Background map	None, OpenStreetMap, or Satellite. When set to None, you can set a custom background color.
Save current map extent	Preserves zoom and pan position when enabled.

Area maps (Choropleth)

Area maps color geographic regions based on data values. You can use built-in region shapes for countries or US states, or provide custom GeoJSON for other boundaries.

Data requirements

• Country codes - ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes (e.g., “USA”, “GBR”) for world maps
• US state codes - State abbreviations (e.g., “CA”, “NY”) for US maps
• Custom identifiers - Any identifier that matches a property in your custom GeoJSON file

Layout options

Option	Description
Custom region	Toggle to use a custom GeoJSON file instead of built-in regions.
Map region	World or US (when custom region is off).
Custom GeoJSON URL	URL to your GeoJSON file (when custom region is on).
Map join field	Property from the GeoJSON file to join on (when custom region is on).
Data join field	Field in your data containing values that match the map join field. Label changes based on map type: “Country code field (ISO3)” for world, “State field” for US.

Using custom GeoJSON

When you enable Custom region, you can provide a URL to any GeoJSON file that defines your region boundaries. After entering the URL, Lightdash loads the available properties from the GeoJSON and displays them in the Map join field dropdown. Select the property that contains values matching your data.

For example, if your GeoJSON has a postal_code property and your data has a zip_code field:

1. Enable Custom region and enter your GeoJSON URL
2. Select postal_code from the Map join field dropdown
3. Select your zip_code field as the Data join field

Display options

Option	Description
Color based on	Field to determine region color intensity.
Color range	Gradient colors (2-5 colors) from low to high values.
No data color	Color for regions that have no matching data.
Show legend	Toggle legend visibility.
Background map	None, OpenStreetMap, or Satellite. When set to None, you can set a custom background color.
Save current map extent	Preserves zoom and pan position when enabled.

Heatmaps

Heatmaps show the density of points as a heat overlay, useful for visualizing concentration of data points across geographic areas.

Data requirements

Your data must include latitude and longitude coordinates. If your data contains addresses instead of coordinates, you’ll need to geocode them to latitude/longitude values using a third-party geocoding service before using them in a map.

Layout options

Option	Description
Latitude field	Field containing latitude coordinates.
Longitude field	Field containing longitude coordinates.

Display options

Option	Description
Color range	Gradient colors (2-5 colors) from low to high density.
Radius	Size of each heat point (1-50).
Blur	Amount of blur applied to heat points (0-30).
Opacity	Transparency of the heatmap overlay (0.1-1).
Show legend	Toggle legend visibility.
Background map	None, OpenStreetMap, or Satellite. When set to None, you can set a custom background color.
Save current map extent	Preserves zoom and pan position when enabled.