Summarizing Attributes
Included in this tutorial:
Accessing attribute field summary statistics
Generating charts from attributes and accessing (editing) chart properties
Exporting (saving) a summary chart
Software version in examples: ArcGIS Pro 2.8.2
Tutorial Data: The tutorial includes demonstration with sample data available here.
Credits: L. Meisterlin with Erik Strand, Moses Levich, and Thiago Lee (2021)
This tutorial reviews quickly accessing summary statistics from the attribute table and modifying charts depicting attribute values.
Accessing Field Summary Statistics
To access descriptive statistics for a field, right-click on the field’s header in the Attribute Table, then click Statistics.
A chart will appear, visualizing the distribution of values in the selected field (a histogram for numeric fields and a bar chart for text fields). The chart will also appear as a layer (for quick access and for adding to a Layout) in the Contents Pane, though it is not drawn in a Map view.
In addition, a Chart Properties pane will appear for numeric fields, displaying several descriptive statistics by default. (More on the Chart Properties pane below.)
accessing a histogram and summary statistics of a field
The Chart Properties Pane
The Chart Properties Pane, at the right of the interface by default, contains descriptive statistical information calculated from values in the chosen numeric field.
Measures of central tendency and variation are included in the summary (mean, median, and standard deviation). Toggle their appearance on the histogram by clicking their respective checkboxes.
Change the field for which statistics are being displayed by using the dropdown menu under Variable.
Adjust the number of bins displayed in the histogram by adjusting the slider or by typing in the text box under Bins.
Transform the distribution of data in the histogram using the With transformation drop-down menu. These options will normalize the visualization of skewed data. A more detailed explanation of these transformations can be found here.
Use the Axes, Guides, Format, and General tabs to change the appearance of the chart.
changing the appearance of a histogram
Export a Chart
To export or save the chart, choose from the Export options at the top of the chart’s panel.
chart export options button