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32 Python scripts generated for flow map this week

Flow Map

Chart overview

Flow maps visualize movement between locations using lines or arrows, with width often proportional to volume.

Key points

  • They effectively display migration patterns, trade routes, transportation flows, and any origin-destination data with geographic context.

Python Tutorial

How to create a flow map in Python

Use the full tutorial for implementation details, troubleshooting, and chart variations in matplotlib, seaborn, and plotly.

How to Create a Heatmap in Python

Example Visualization

Flow map showing migration patterns between states

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Generate publication-ready flow maps with AI in seconds. No coding required – just describe your data and let AI do the work.

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Example AI Prompt

"Create an interactive flow map showing 'US Interstate Migration Patterns' between major metropolitan areas. Generate realistic migration data for flows between 15 cities: top outflows from California (LA, SF) and New York to Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston), Florida (Miami, Tampa), and Arizona (Phoenix). Flow volumes range from 5,000 to 50,000 annual migrants. Draw curved arrows between origin and destination. Arrow width proportional to migration volume. Color by net flow direction: blue for inflows, red for outflows. Animate flows with moving particles. Size city markers by population. Add hover showing origin, destination, annual migrants, and percentage of origin population. Include a summary panel showing top gainers and losers. Title: 'US Domestic Migration Flows 2023'."

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2

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3

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Python Code Example

example.py
# === IMPORTS ===
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib.patches import FancyArrowPatch, Circle
import matplotlib.patheffects as pe

# === USER-EDITABLE PARAMETERS ===
title = "US Domestic Migration Flows 2023"
figsize = (16, 10)

# === EXAMPLE DATASET ===
# Major cities with coordinates (lat, lon) - simplified for plotting
cities = {
    'Los Angeles': {'pos': (0.15, 0.35), 'pop': 3.9},
    'San Francisco': {'pos': (0.08, 0.55), 'pop': 0.87},
    'Seattle': {'pos': (0.12, 0.85), 'pop': 0.75},
    'Phoenix': {'pos': (0.28, 0.25), 'pop': 1.6},
    'Denver': {'pos': (0.38, 0.55), 'pop': 0.72},
    'Dallas': {'pos': (0.52, 0.22), 'pop': 1.3},
    'Houston': {'pos': (0.55, 0.12), 'pop': 2.3},
    'Austin': {'pos': (0.48, 0.18), 'pop': 1.0},
    'Chicago': {'pos': (0.62, 0.65), 'pop': 2.7},
    'Miami': {'pos': (0.82, 0.08), 'pop': 0.45},
    'New York': {'pos': (0.88, 0.68), 'pop': 8.3},
    'Boston': {'pos': (0.92, 0.78), 'pop': 0.68},
}

# Migration flows: (origin, destination, migrants in thousands)
flows = [
    ('Los Angeles', 'Austin', 35),
    ('Los Angeles', 'Phoenix', 28),
    ('Los Angeles', 'Dallas', 22),
    ('San Francisco', 'Austin', 25),
    ('San Francisco', 'Denver', 18),
    ('San Francisco', 'Seattle', 15),
    ('New York', 'Miami', 45),
    ('New York', 'Austin', 20),
    ('New York', 'Dallas', 18),
    ('Chicago', 'Austin', 15),
    ('Chicago', 'Phoenix', 12),
    ('Miami', 'New York', 8),
    ('Seattle', 'Austin', 10),
]

# Calculate inflow/outflow
inflow = {city: 0 for city in cities}
outflow = {city: 0 for city in cities}
for origin, dest, migrants in flows:
    outflow[origin] += migrants
    inflow[dest] += migrants

# Print summary
print("=== US Domestic Migration Flows ===")  
print(f"\nCities: {len(cities)}")
print(f"Flow Routes: {len(flows)}")
print(f"\nTop Destinations:")
for city, flow in sorted(inflow.items(), key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True)[:5]:
    if flow > 0:
        print(f"  {city}: +{flow}K migrants")
print(f"\nTop Origins (outflow):")
for city, flow in sorted(outflow.items(), key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True)[:3]:
    print(f"  {city}: -{flow}K migrants")

# === CREATE FLOW MAP ===
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=figsize, facecolor='#0a0a1a')
ax.set_facecolor('#0a0a1a')

# Draw simplified US outline
us_outline_x = [0.05, 0.12, 0.15, 0.35, 0.50, 0.65, 0.85, 0.95, 0.92, 0.85, 
                0.78, 0.72, 0.65, 0.55, 0.45, 0.35, 0.25, 0.15, 0.08, 0.05]
us_outline_y = [0.50, 0.80, 0.90, 0.88, 0.82, 0.78, 0.75, 0.65, 0.45, 0.25,
                0.08, 0.05, 0.08, 0.10, 0.12, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.35, 0.50]
ax.fill(us_outline_x, us_outline_y, color='#1a1a3a', alpha=0.5, edgecolor='#404080', linewidth=2)

# Draw flows with curved arrows
for origin, dest, migrants in flows:
    x1, y1 = cities[origin]['pos']
    x2, y2 = cities[dest]['pos']
    
    # Arrow properties based on flow size
    width = migrants / 15
    alpha = min(0.8, migrants / 50)
    
    # Gradient color: blue to purple
    color = '#00D9FF' if migrants > 25 else '#6C5CE7' if migrants > 15 else '#A29BFE'
    
    # Create curved arrow
    style = f"arc3,rad=0.15"
    arrow = FancyArrowPatch(
        (x1, y1), (x2, y2),
        connectionstyle=style,
        arrowstyle='-|>',
        mutation_scale=10 + migrants/5,
        color=color,
        linewidth=width,
        alpha=alpha,
        zorder=2
    )
    ax.add_patch(arrow)

# Draw cities
for city, data in cities.items():
    x, y = data['pos']
    
    # Net flow determines color
    net = inflow[city] - outflow[city]
    if net > 20:
        color = '#00E676'  # Strong net inflow - green
    elif net > 0:
        color = '#69F0AE'  # Mild net inflow
    elif net > -20:
        color = '#FF8A65'  # Mild net outflow
    else:
        color = '#FF5252'  # Strong net outflow - red
    
    # Size based on total activity
    activity = inflow[city] + outflow[city]
    size = 100 + activity * 8
    
    # Glow effect
    for i in range(3, 0, -1):
        circle = plt.Circle((x, y), 0.02 * i, color=color, alpha=0.1)
        ax.add_patch(circle)
    
    ax.scatter(x, y, s=size, c=color, edgecolors='white', 
               linewidths=2, zorder=5, alpha=0.9)
    
    # City label
    label_offset = 0.04
    ax.text(x, y - label_offset, city.replace(' ', '\n'), fontsize=9, 
            fontweight='bold', ha='center', va='top', color='white',
            path_effects=[pe.withStroke(linewidth=2, foreground='#0a0a1a')])

# Title
ax.set_title(title, fontsize=24, fontweight='bold', color='white', pad=20,
             path_effects=[pe.withStroke(linewidth=3, foreground='#6C5CE7')])

# Legend
from matplotlib.patches import Patch
from matplotlib.lines import Line2D

legend_elements = [
    Patch(facecolor='#00E676', label='Net Inflow (gaining pop.)', edgecolor='white'),
    Patch(facecolor='#FF5252', label='Net Outflow (losing pop.)', edgecolor='white'),
    Line2D([0], [0], color='#00D9FF', linewidth=4, label='Major flow (>25K)'),
    Line2D([0], [0], color='#A29BFE', linewidth=2, label='Minor flow (<15K)'),
]
legend = ax.legend(handles=legend_elements, loc='lower left', 
                   facecolor='#1a1a3a', edgecolor='#404080',
                   labelcolor='white', fontsize=10)

# Info box
total_migrants = sum(m for _, _, m in flows)
ax.text(0.98, 0.02, f'Total Migration: {total_migrants}K people\n{len(flows)} major routes shown', 
        transform=ax.transAxes, fontsize=10, color='#888', ha='right', va='bottom',
        bbox=dict(boxstyle='round', facecolor='#1a1a3a', alpha=0.8, edgecolor='#404080'))

ax.set_xlim(-0.02, 1.02)
ax.set_ylim(-0.02, 1.02)
ax.axis('off')

plt.tight_layout()
plt.savefig('chart.png', dpi=150, bbox_inches='tight', facecolor='#0a0a1a')
print("Saved: chart.png")
plt.show()
# END-OF-CODE

Opens the Analyze page with this code pre-loaded and ready to execute

Console Output

Output
=== US Domestic Migration Flows ===

Cities: 12
Flow Routes: 13

Top Destinations:
  Austin: +105K migrants
  Miami: +45K migrants
  Phoenix: +40K migrants
  Dallas: +40K migrants
  Denver: +18K migrants

Top Origins (outflow):
  Los Angeles: -85K migrants
  New York: -83K migrants
  San Francisco: -58K migrants
Saved: chart.png

Common Use Cases

  • 1Migration visualization
  • 2Trade flow analysis
  • 3Transportation planning
  • 4Supply chain mapping

Pro Tips

Use curved lines to reduce overlap

Scale line width by volume

Add directional arrows

Long-tail keyword opportunities

how to create flow map in python
flow map matplotlib
flow map seaborn
flow map plotly
flow map scientific visualization
flow map publication figure python

High-intent chart variations

Flow Map with confidence interval overlays
Flow Map optimized for publication layouts
Flow Map with category-specific color encoding
Interactive Flow Map for exploratory analysis

Library comparison for this chart

folium

Useful in specialized workflows that complement core Python plotting libraries for flow-map analysis tasks.

geopandas

Good for quick exploratory drafts directly from DataFrame operations before polishing in matplotlib or plotly.

plotly

Best for interactive hover, zoom, and web sharing when collaborators need to inspect values directly from flow-map figures.

Free Cheat Sheet

Scientific Chart Selection Cheat Sheet

Not sure whether to use a Violin Plot, Box Plot, or Ridge Plot? Download our single-page reference mapping the most-used scientific chart types, exactly when to use them, and the core Matplotlib/Seaborn functions.

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