I have two point layers: one shows the number of people in a county, the other shows the number of people who receive a particular service in that county.

I am symbolizing them both as "proportional symbols", that is, as dots of varying sizes.

However, the scale is different between them, so I can't compare the dot sizes in a meaningful way. 1000 people in one layer is a dot that looks five times bigger than 1000 people in the other. I'd like them both to be symbolized with the same scale so I can see how many people receive services relative to the whole population. Below is a snapshot so you can see what I mean.

This is how things look currently, to help you see what I mean.

  • 2
    Consider using a different way of symbolizing. I'd probably try calculating a percentage instead (service/population) and add a colour to the whole area based on that. Then you can have points for total population or service, depending on which is more important. Alternatively, use an offset for one of your symbols so both can be seen at the same time. Or use the Normalization value seen in the first image in @Midavalo's answer. – Martin Mar 29 '16 at 5:51

In the Layer Properties > Symbology tab, use Graduated Symbols and define your symbol ranges, then in your second layer use the Import symbology button to import from your other layer. This will make the symbols and scale on both layers the same - you can then modify the colours so they show up as different symbols.

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  • This didn't work for me... But I used the "graduated symbols" instead of "proportional symbols" and set the categories manually to match one another, and that was a good solution. Thank you – user2192778 Mar 31 '16 at 20:41
  • @user2192778 yes sorry I forgot to include that in my answer - you can barely see it in my screenshots, but I also used Graduated Symbols, not Proportional – Midavalo Mar 31 '16 at 20:43
  • I have updated my answer to reflect this – Midavalo Mar 31 '16 at 20:45

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