Turn Survey Responses into a Sentiment Gradient Map

Upload your response file, open the Heat Mapping Tool in Map Tools, and choose the Represents Numerical Data style. Point it at the column that holds each response score and click Add Heat Map. The heat is weighted by that score rather than by how many rows fall in one spot, so a strongly favorable area reads warmer than a lukewarm one. Turn Gradient On for a single color scale, adjust the radius and intensity to match your sample, and Hide Map Markers to leave only the gradient on screen.

Yes, and two paths do this. A heat map weighted by a favor-to-oppose score gives a smooth read of the lean across a region. For a firmer answer, the Boundary Tool fills counties or ZIP codes by the average score inside each one, so every region takes one color for its position. Pair the fill with a diverging palette, cool for opposed through neutral to warm for in favor, and leadership sees which side of the line each area falls on.

Both fit, and the choice depends on the read you want. A heat map gives a soft gradient that ignores hard borders, which suits a first look at where support concentrates. Shaded boundaries give a firm number per region, so a county or ZIP takes a single average score and a color to match. Use the heat gradient for the mood of a wider area, and the Boundary Tool when leadership wants the figure for a named county or precinct. You can build both on one upload and switch between them.

A diverging scale runs from one color through a neutral middle to a second color, so a two-sided score reads in both directions from the center. Sentiment data usually runs from opposed to in favor, which is where a diverging palette fits. In the Boundary Tool, Customize Fills lets you give a cool color to the opposed ranges, a pale tone to the middle, and a warm color to the ranges in favor, so support and opposition map on one key.

Yes. Score each response on your own scale, such as -100 for fully opposed up to +100 for fully in favor, and load that column as the value. In the Heat Mapping Tool, the Represents Numerical Data style weights the gradient by that number. In the Boundary Tool, My Numerical Data with the Average function rolls the scores up per region so each county or ZIP takes its mean. Either way the map reads from your scale rather than a fixed preset.

The Represents Numerical Data style asks for a numeric column and weights the heat by that number instead of counting points. A row scored +90 reads warmer than a row scored +10 in the same spot, so the color tracks strength of opinion, not head count. You control the radius, opacity, and intensity threshold, and you can add a second heat map in another color to compare two questions on one view.

Yes. Open the Boundary Tool, pick a boundary set such as US Counties or ZIP Codes, and set the fill to My Numerical Data. Choose Average as the function and the response-score column as the number, then click Load Boundaries. Each region colors by the mean score of the responses inside it, and a key of ranges appears with the total on every area. This turns scattered responses into one figure per county or precinct, the view most leadership teams want when they ask how a district is leaning.

Maptive splits a fill into ranges two ways. Value Ranges place an equal number of regions in each range, and Percentage Ranges split the regions by an equal share of the high-to-low spread. You set the number of ranges and the color for each one in Customize Fills. For a sentiment map, a few ranges with a diverging palette keep the read simple, while more ranges show finer movement between areas.

Yes, and both tools let the gradient stand on its own. In the Heat Mapping Tool, Hide Map Markers removes the underlying points so only the gradient remains, which keeps individual respondents off a screen you plan to share. The Boundary Tool colors whole regions, so the fill already reads without pins on top. Leaving the raw points off matters when the data is sensitive, because leadership sees the pattern by area rather than a dot per respondent.

Once the gradient reads the way you want, share it as a password-protected link, a public link, or a one-line embed for an internal page. Presentation mode walks a room through the map full screen, and Export Map Image saves a PNG or PDF for a slide. The shared view reads from the map you built, so a leader who opens the link sees the current gradient, not a stale screenshot in a deck.