Building an SVG Stacked Bar Chart
A stacked bar chart layers series segments within each bar, each positioned by the cumulative total of the segments below it.
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Computing Cumulative Offsets per Segment
Each segment in a stacked bar needs both its own value for height and the running sum of all segments below it for vertical position, so the rendering loop maintains a cumulative total per bar that increments as each successive series segment is drawn.
- Each segment's height comes from its own individual value
- Its position comes from the running sum of all segments below it
- A per-bar cumulative total increments as each series is drawn
When Stacking Helps and When It Hides
Stacked bars show total magnitude clearly and make the bottom series easy to compare across bars, but segments higher in the stack become difficult to compare since they start at inconsistent baselines, which is why grouped bars often communicate better for cross-category comparison.
- Stacking shows total magnitude and the bottom series clearly
- Upper segments start at inconsistent baselines, hindering comparison
- Grouped bars often communicate better when comparing across categories
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are upper segments in a stacked bar hard to compare?
They each start at a different baseline determined by the segments below, so the eye can't easily judge their relative lengths across bars.
When should I use stacked bars instead of grouped bars?
Use stacked bars when the total is the primary message and part-to-whole composition matters more than precisely comparing individual series across categories.
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