gt Tables

May 19, 2025

Let’s make a gt table

Create states data frame…

# lowest 
state_min <- quintiles |> 
  slice_min(q1) 

# highest
state_max <- quintiles |> 
  slice_max(top5) 

# randomly select five more
five_more <- quintiles |>
   slice_sample(n = 5) 

states <- bind_rows(state_min, state_max, five_more) |>
  arrange(desc(top5))
10:00

Let’s make a gt table


library(gt)
gt(states)
name q1 q2 q3 q4 q5 top5
District of Columbia 12971 51060 94478 157803 375792 670768
New York 14054 42220 75647 123318 302676 574063
Utah 21105 51272 79517 116016 239149 421379
Oregon 16014 42554 70418 108483 232703 404468
Idaho 16450 40433 63643 95316 203042 360622
South Dakota 16002 39619 64234 95810 200212 358060
Puerto Rico 2906 12144 22163 38397 99043 187234

Let’s make a good gt table


Mean Household Income of Quintiles, 2021
Seven Representative U.S. States
lowest second third fourth highest top 5%
District of Columbia $12,971 $51,060 $94,478 $157,803 $375,792 $670,768
New York $14,054 $42,220 $75,647 $123,318 $302,676 $574,063
Utah $21,105 $51,272 $79,517 $116,016 $239,149 $421,379
Oregon $16,014 $42,554 $70,418 $108,483 $232,703 $404,468
Idaho $16,450 $40,433 $63,643 $95,316 $203,042 $360,622
South Dakota $16,002 $39,619 $64,234 $95,810 $200,212 $358,060
Puerto Rico $2,906 $12,144 $22,163 $38,397 $99,043 $187,234
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Let’s make a good gt table

goodtable <- gt(states) |> 
  tab_header(
    title = "Mean Household Income of Quintiles, 2021",
    subtitle = "Seven Representative U.S. States"
  ) |> 
  cols_label(
    name = "",
    q1 = "lowest",
    q2 = "second",
    q3 = "third",
    q4 = "fourth",
    q5 = "highest",
    top5 = "top 5%"
  ) |> 
  fmt_currency(
    columns = c(q1:top5),
    currency = "USD", 
    use_subunits = FALSE
  ) |>
  # note that you can use markdown (md) to format the source note for html documents
  tab_source_note(source_note = md("**Source**: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey"))

goodtable
10:00

Change Colum Width


Mean Household Income of Quintiles, 2021
Seven Representative U.S. States
lowest second third fourth highest top 5%
District of Columbia $12,971 $51,060 $94,478 $157,803 $375,792 $670,768
New York $14,054 $42,220 $75,647 $123,318 $302,676 $574,063
Utah $21,105 $51,272 $79,517 $116,016 $239,149 $421,379
Oregon $16,014 $42,554 $70,418 $108,483 $232,703 $404,468
Idaho $16,450 $40,433 $63,643 $95,316 $203,042 $360,622
South Dakota $16,002 $39,619 $64,234 $95,810 $200,212 $358,060
Puerto Rico $2,906 $12,144 $22,163 $38,397 $99,043 $187,234
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Change Colum Width


vgoodtable <- goodtable |>
  cols_width(c(q1:top5) ~ px(90))

vgoodtable

Change Font


Mean Household Income of Quintiles, 2021
Seven Representative U.S. States
lowest second third fourth highest top 5%
District of Columbia $12,971 $51,060 $94,478 $157,803 $375,792 $670,768
New York $14,054 $42,220 $75,647 $123,318 $302,676 $574,063
Utah $21,105 $51,272 $79,517 $116,016 $239,149 $421,379
Oregon $16,014 $42,554 $70,418 $108,483 $232,703 $404,468
Idaho $16,450 $40,433 $63,643 $95,316 $203,042 $360,622
South Dakota $16,002 $39,619 $64,234 $95,810 $200,212 $358,060
Puerto Rico $2,906 $12,144 $22,163 $38,397 $99,043 $187,234
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Change Font


greattable <- vgoodtable |>
  opt_table_font(font = "verdana")

greattable

Center


Mean Household Income of Quintiles, 2021
Seven Representative U.S. States
lowest second third fourth highest top 5%
District of Columbia $12,971 $51,060 $94,478 $157,803 $375,792 $670,768
New York $14,054 $42,220 $75,647 $123,318 $302,676 $574,063
Utah $21,105 $51,272 $79,517 $116,016 $239,149 $421,379
Oregon $16,014 $42,554 $70,418 $108,483 $232,703 $404,468
Idaho $16,450 $40,433 $63,643 $95,316 $203,042 $360,622
South Dakota $16,002 $39,619 $64,234 $95,810 $200,212 $358,060
Puerto Rico $2,906 $12,144 $22,163 $38,397 $99,043 $187,234
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Center


vgreattable <- greattable |>
  cols_align(
  align = "center",
  columns = q1:top5
)

vgreattable

Add Borders and Lines


Mean Household Income of Quintiles, 2021
Seven Representative U.S. States
lowest second third fourth highest top 5%
District of Columbia $12,971 $51,060 $94,478 $157,803 $375,792 $670,768
New York $14,054 $42,220 $75,647 $123,318 $302,676 $574,063
Utah $21,105 $51,272 $79,517 $116,016 $239,149 $421,379
Oregon $16,014 $42,554 $70,418 $108,483 $232,703 $404,468
Idaho $16,450 $40,433 $63,643 $95,316 $203,042 $360,622
South Dakota $16,002 $39,619 $64,234 $95,810 $200,212 $358,060
Puerto Rico $2,906 $12,144 $22,163 $38,397 $99,043 $187,234
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Export Table


gtsave(awesometable, "awesometable.png")

Not a Good Table

name estimate lower_90 upper_90
Barnstable 40442 39554 41330
Berkshire 33040 32074 34006
Bristol 36910 36347 37473
Dukes 40119 34791 45447
Essex 39756 39174 40338
Franklin 34775 33712 35838
Hampden 32262 31707 32817
Hampshire 30795 29868 31722
Middlesex 51808 51337 52279
Nantucket 45717 38260 53174
Norfolk 52591 51991 53191
Plymouth 43684 43014 44354
Suffolk 39200 38624 39776
Worcester 39009 38454 39564

Use Confidence Intervals Instead

Use Confidence Intervals Instead

library(ggplot2)

mass_med_inc |>
  ggplot(aes(x = estimate, y = reorder(name, estimate))) +
  geom_errorbar(aes(xmin = lower_90, xmax = upper_90)) +
  geom_point(color = "red", size = 2) +
  labs(title = "Household income by county in Massachusetts",
       subtitle = "2017-2021 American Community Survey",
       y = "",
       x = "Median Income", 
       caption = "ACS estimate (bars represent 90% confidence intervals)") +
  theme_minimal()

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