Chloropleth Mapping

The map above represents the change in population from 2010 to 2014 in Colorado. I selected 7 classes because it provided a balanced representation of population change. With 5 classes, the range near 0% change was too broad, making subtle variations hard to see. Meanwhile, 9 classes didn’t add much clarity beyond 7 and made the map look overly complex. The goal was to clearly show areas of minimal to maximum change without unnecessary visual clutter. I used Natural Breaks because it highlights areas with significant population change (e.g., above 6%), where Equal Interval struggled to fairly represent values near 0% change. To enhance readability, I manually adjusted the middle value so that changes within ±1% appear white, creating a clear neutral zone. Areas with positive change are shown in shades of blue, while negative change is in shades of red, making the trends more intuitive.