How to Move Alaska in Tableau

Creating a map visualization in Tableau is a fantastic way to show geographic data, but mapping all 50 U.S. states introduces a common design headache. Alaska and Hawaii often push your continental US data into a small corner, surrounded by vast stretches of empty ocean. This article will show you exactly how to solve this by creating a clean, professional inset map that moves Alaska and Hawaii closer to the lower 48.

Why the Default Tableau Map of the U.S. Can Be Frustrating

When you build a U.S. map in Tableau, the software accurately places every state in its real-world geographic location. While technically correct, this creates a few significant problems for data visualization:

• Wasted Space: Alaska's position far to the northwest and Hawaii's location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean stretch the canvas. A huge portion of your dashboard ends up being empty blue space representing the ocean, which adds no value to your analysis.
• Poor Readability: To accommodate the vast distances, the lower 48 states get compressed. This makes it difficult to see and interact with smaller states, especially in the Northeast, like Rhode Island or Delaware. Key data points can become virtually unreadable.
• Lack of Focus: If your primary focus is on comparing state-level data across the entire country, this awkward layout draws attention away from the core insights. The user's eye has to jump across a wide, mostly empty area to see all the data.

Instead of presenting a map that's difficult to interpret, we can create a more compact and user-friendly version that anyone can understand at a glance.

The Solution: An Inset Map for Alaska and Hawaii

The goal is to create what’s commonly known as an inset map. We will build a primary map showing the continental U.S. states in their correct positions. Then, we'll create custom locations for Alaska and Hawaii, positioning them in the empty space below and to the west of the main map (typically over Mexico or the Pacific Ocean).

This approach gives each state an appropriate amount of space, improves readability, and creates a much more polished and professional-looking dashboard. To do this, we'll need to define custom coordinates and use a few simple calculated fields in Tableau.

Step 1: Preparing Your Location Data

The key to moving a state in Tableau is to override its default geographic coordinates. The cleanest way to do this is with a separate, simple spreadsheet that contains just the states you want to move and their new target locations. This keeps your modifications separate and easy to manage.

Create a Custom Coordinates File

Open Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, or any other spreadsheet program and create a simple table with three columns: State (or your state identifier), Inset Latitude, and Inset Longitude.

Your content should look like this. We will only add rows for the two states we're moving: Alaska and Hawaii.

Example Coordinates Spreadsheet:

State,Inset Latitude,Inset Longitude AK,27.5,-103 HI,26,-115

Why these numbers? These coordinates will place Alaska just south of Texas and Hawaii to its southwest. You can experiment with these values later to position them perfectly for your specific dashboard design. Save this file as a CSV or Excel file (e.g., 'Custom_Coordinates.csv').

Step 2: Building the Main Map Visualization in Tableau

With our custom coordinates file ready, we can now head into Tableau to start building our map. We'll connect to both our primary data and our new coordinate file, then stitch them together with calculated fields.

Connecting to Your Data Sources

First, connect Tableau to your primary data source - the one containing the metrics you want to plot for all 50 states.

Next, you need to add your custom coordinates file as a new connection.

1. In the Data Source tab, click "Add" next to Connections.
2. Connect to the 'Custom_Coordinates.csv' file you just created.
3. Tableau will bring both connections onto the canvas. Now, you need to create a relationship between them. Drag your new coordinates table next to your primary data table.
4. Click the noodle connecting them to define the relationship. You'll want to join them on the state field. For example, you might relate 'State Abbreviation' from your primary data with the 'State' column from your coordinates file.
5. Use a Left Join. This is important because it ensures all 50 states from your primary data source are kept, even though our coordinates file only contains data for two of them. The other 48 states will simply have null values for 'Inset Latitude' and 'Inset Longitude'.

Creating the Calculated Fields for Combined Coordinates

Now for the fun part. We'll create two calculated fields to tell Tableau which coordinates to use for each state: the original ones for the lower 48 or our custom ones for Alaska and Hawaii.

1. Go to a new worksheet in Tableau.
2. Right-click anywhere in the Data pane on the left and select "Create Calculated Field."
3. Let’s create our final Latitude field first. Name it "Final Latitude."

The calculation is simple. We'll use the IFNULL() function, which checks if the first value is null. If it is, it uses the second value. Since only Alaska and Hawaii have 'Inset Latitude' values, this formula will use those, for all other states, it will fall back to the original 'Latitude'.

Enter this formula:

IFNULL([Inset Latitude], [Latitude])

Note: Your field names for latitude might be different. Just replace '[Latitude]' with whatever your dataset calls the automatically generated latitude field.

1. Click OK. Now, create a second calculated field named "Final Longitude."

Use the same logic here:

IFNULL([Inset Longitude], [Longitude])

Now we have two dynamic fields, 'Final Latitude' and 'Final Longitude', that Tableau can use to plot every state exactly where we want it.

Step 3: Constructing the Map in the Worksheet

Let's use our new fields to build the visual.

1. Drag Final Longitude to the Columns shelf.
2. Drag Final Latitude to the Rows shelf.
3. Tableau will likely show a single point on a map. Bring your state identifier field (e.g., 'State Abbreviation' or 'State Name') and drag it onto the Detail on the Marks card.

Your map should immediately update, showing the familiar shape of the continental US, with Alaska and Hawaii now appearing in the empty space at the bottom left. Success! But we can refine it further to make it look even better.

Step 4: Refining the Appearance of Your Inset Map

While the states have moved, Alaska is still disproportionately large and often looks better contained within a shape or outline. We can achieve this polished look by using a dual-axis map.

Using a Dual-Axis Map for a Cleaner Look

This technique layers two maps on top of each other. The bottom layer will be our map of the lower 48, and the top layer will show Alaska and Hawaii as distinct shapes (like circles) rather than massive filled polygons.

1. Duplicate the Latitude Pill: Hold down the Ctrl key (or Cmd on a Mac) and drag the Final Latitude pill on the Rows shelf to its right. This creates a second, identical map below the first one.
2. Adjust the Second Map: On the Marks card, you now have tabs for each map ("Final Latitude" and "Final Latitude (2)"). Select the tab for the second map. Change its Mark Type from 'Map' to 'Circle'.
3. Filter for AK and HI: We only want Alaska and Hawaii to appear as circles. Drag your 'State Abbreviation' field to the Filters card for this second mark only. Select only "AK" and "HI".
4. Combine the Maps: Right-click the second 'Final Latitude' pill on the Rows shelf and select Dual Axis. The two maps will now be layered on top of each other.
5. Style Your Circles: Now you can format the circles representing Alaska and Hawaii. Go back to the Marks card for your 'circle' map. You can adjust the size, color, and even add a border to make them look distinct. For a cohesive look, you can drag your main data metric (e.g., Sales) onto the Color shelf for both maps, so the colors match up.

After adjusting the colors and sizes, you’ll have a professional map view that clearly communicates your data for all 50 states without any awkward dead space.

Final Thoughts

Positioning Alaska and Hawaii closer to the continental U.S. transforms a stretched, hard-to-read map into a compact and professional visualization. By creating a simple file for custom coordinates and using calculated fields and a dual-axis chart in Tableau, you can reclaim your dashboard space and make your geographic data story much easier to understand.

While mastering tools like Tableau is a powerful skill, sometimes you just need direct answers without the manual configuration. For those moments, you can use our platform, Graphed, which connects to your marketing and sales data sources, allowing you to create dashboards and reports simply by describing what you need in plain English. This gets you business insights in seconds, so you can spend less time building reports and more time acting on the data.