A clustered stacked bar chart is a type of bar chart that is both clustered and stacked.
It’s particularly useful for visualizing data values that have multiple groups and span several time periods.
This tutorial provides a step-by-step example of how to create the following clustered stacked bar chart in Excel:
Step 1: Enter the Data
First, let’s enter the following dataset that shows the sales of various products at different retail stores during different years:
Step 2: Create the Clustered Stacked Bar Chart
Next, highlight the cell range C1:E16, then click the Insert tab along the top ribbon, then click the Stacked Column icon within the Charts group to create the following clustered stacked bar chart:
Step 3: Customize the Clustered Stacked Bar Chart
Next, we need to insert custom labels on the x-axis.
Before we do so, click on cell A17 and type a couple empty spaces. This will be necessary for the next step.
Next, right click anywhere on the chart and then click Select Data.
In the window that appears, click the Edit button under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels:
For the Axis label range, highlight the range A2:B17 and then click OK:
The following labels will appear on the x-axis:
Next, click on any of the bars in the graph. In the Format Data Series panel that appears, adjust the Gap Width to be 0%:
The gap between the bars in the same clusters will be removed:
Next, click on any bar in the chart. In the Format Data Series panel that appears, click the paint can icon, then click Border and choose Solid line:
Repeat for each bar in the chart until there is a solid black border around each bar:
Lastly, click on the title text and change it to “Sales by Store and Year”.
Then click on any individual text elements in the plot that you’d like and make them bold:
The clustered stacked bar chart is now complete.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to create other common visualizations in Excel:
How to Create a Quadrant Chart in Excel
How to Create a Bubble Chart in Excel
How to Create a Double Doughnut Chart in Excel