Maps and Geospatial Visuals in Power BI

Reading Time: 8 Mins | Level: Beginner to Advanced

1. Geospatial Visualization in Power BI

Power BI offers built-in geospatial capabilities powered by Bing Maps and Azure Maps:

1. 1
   Map (Bubble Map): Plots circular bubbles over geographic locations; bubble size represents volume.
2. 2
   Filled Map (Choropleth): Colors entire geographic regions (States, Countries, Provinces) based on quantitative metrics.
3. 3
   Shape Map: Compares regions using custom TopoJSON boundaries.

2. Best Practice: Setting Data Categories

To prevent Bing Maps from confusing "Washington" (the state) with "Washington D.C." (the city) or "Delhi" with other global towns:

• Select the column in the Data Pane.
• On the Column tools ribbon, set Data category to State or Province, City, Postal Code, or Country/Region.