Normalize your choropleths
This interactive choropleth illustrates how raw state-level metrics can be misleading. It maps Gross State Product (GSP) across U.S. states, initially using a color scale that visually mimics a population distribution. By clicking toggle buttons, users can switch between views of total GSP, population, and GSP per capita, revealing that the unnormalized map is essentially a population map. The animation and tooltips reinforce the point, and an xkcd comic drives home the message that choropleths should be normalized by an underlying variable to avoid drawing incorrect conclusions. The visualization uses an Albers USA projection and is rendered with SVG, with hovering to display exact values. The author notes the deliberate exclusion of Washington, D.C. due to its outlier status.
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