🔍 What Are Hierarchies in Tableau?

Before diving into the process, let’s understand what a hierarchy means in data. A hierarchy is a logical arrangement of data fields across different levels.

For example:

A Geography hierarchy might include: Region → Country → State → City

A Time hierarchy could include: Year → Month → Week → Day

Tableau allows you to build custom hierarchies or automatically detects them based on related fields. This makes it easy to drill down into data for detailed analysis or drill up to see the bigger picture.

🛠️ How to Create a Hierarchy in Tableau – Step by Step

✅ Step 1: Drag a Field to Create a Hierarchy

From the data pane, drag one dimension field onto another. This creates a sub-level field, starting your hierarchy.
You can also right-click on a field, go to Hierarchy > Add to Hierarchy, and choose an existing hierarchy name.

✅ Step 2: Name Your Hierarchy

When you drag one field over another, Tableau will ask you to name the hierarchy. Enter a meaningful name and hit OK.

✅ Step 3: Add More Fields

Once the hierarchy is created, you’ll see it listed in the data pane. You can drag additional fields into it to build deeper levels (e.g., Category > Sub-Category > Product Name).

✅ Step 4: Drill Down the Hierarchy

To explore data, drag the hierarchy into Rows or Columns. Click the + icon next to a field to drill down to the next level.

✅ Step 5: Analyze Data

After drilling down, you’ll see detailed data visualizations. To go back up a level, click the – icon. This flexibility allows you to explore your data at various depths.

✅ Step 6: Create a Geo Hierarchy

You can also build a geography-based hierarchy using fields like Region, Country, State, City, etc., and analyze location-based data easily.

❌ How to Remove a Hierarchy in Tableau

Just right-click the hierarchy name in the data pane and choose Remove Hierarchy. This will remove the grouping but won’t delete your fields.

📌 Summary

With this guide, you’ve learned how to create and use hierarchies in Tableau. They’re essential for clean, organized dashboards and powerful data exploration.