How to Add Mapbox Map in Tableau

Tired of the default map options in Tableau? While they get the job done, adding a custom-branded Mapbox map can transform your dashboard from a simple report into a polished, professional data story. This guide will walk you through exactly how to connect Mapbox to Tableau to create beautiful, fully customized map visualizations.

Why Use Mapbox with Tableau?

Tableau’s built-in mapping is powerful for general-purpose geographic analysis. But sometimes, your data deserves a backdrop that aligns perfectly with your brand or the specific story you’re telling. This is where Mapbox shines.

Here’s why you might want to switch:

Custom Branding: You can design maps that use your company’s exact color palette, typography, and logo. This creates a seamless, professional experience for your audience when they view your dashboards.
Enhanced Detail and Layers: Mapbox offers highly detailed base layers, including satellite, terrain, and street-level views that often surpass Tableau’s defaults. You can also add custom layers, like specific sales territories, delivery zones, or store locations, directly onto the map.
Improved Storytelling: A map isn't just a chart, it's a canvas for your data. A minimalist dark-mode map can make your bright data points pop, while a vintage-style map might be perfect for visualizing historical trends. The right map style adds crucial context and emotional impact.
Interactive Elements: You can build maps in Mapbox with specific points of interest or layers that provide a richer, more interactive experience for those viewing your Tableau dashboards.

In short, using Mapbox elevates your dashboards, making them look less like a default report and more like a purpose-built application.

What You’ll Need to Get Started

The process is surprisingly straightforward, and you don’t need any paid software to get this done. Here’s what you’ll need before we begin:

Tableau Desktop: This integration works on the desktop version of Tableau.
A Mapbox Account: You can sign up for a free account at Mapbox.com. Their generous free tier includes more than enough map loads for most Tableau use cases, so you won't need a credit card.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Add a Mapbox Map in Tableau

Let's walk through the three main steps: getting your Mapbox credentials, choosing a map style, and finally adding it inside Tableau Desktop.

Step 1: Get Your Mapbox Access Token

First, we need a special "key" that allows Tableau to communicate with your Mapbox account. This is called an API Access Token.

Log into your Mapbox account. If you just created one, you'll land on your account dashboard.
In the main dashboard, look for the Access tokens section.
Here you'll see a Default public token. This is the token you need. Think of it as a username that tells Tableau who is asking for the map data.
Click the copy icon next to the token to copy it to your clipboard. Keep this handy, as you'll need it in a few minutes.

And that's it for the token. Don't worry about any of the other settings on this page, the default token is all we need.

Step 2: Choose a Map Style and Get the Integration URL

Next, we'll choose the map style you want to use as your background in Tableau. Mapbox comes with several great pre-built styles, and you can also use their design tool, Mapbox Studio, to customize every detail.

For this walkthrough, we'll use a pre-built style.

In your Mapbox account, navigate to the Mapbox Studio by clicking the "Studio" icon in the top right menu with apps or go there directly.
On the right side, you'll see a panel named "My styles". Then click the Styles title at the top. This page shows all the map styles available in your account. Mapbox includes several defaults like Streets, Light, Dark, and Satellite.
Find a style you like and click on it. Let's use the "Dark" style as an example, as it’s great for making data visualizations stand out.
Once you're viewing the style, look for the Share button at the top header with icons menu. Clicking it opens a share modal pop up.
In the "Share Style" tab, look for the "Developer resources" section in this modal.
Click the Third party dropdown and select Tableau from the list.
This will generate a special Tableau Integration URL. Click the copy icon to copy this URL. This is the second piece of the puzzle you’ll need.

Step 3: Add the Mapbox Map to Tableau Desktop

Now for the final step. With your Access Token and Style URL copied, it’s time to hop into Tableau and connect everything.

Open Tableau Desktop and navigate to a worksheet that contains geographic data (i.e., data that generates a map view with latitude and longitude).
In the top menu bar, click on Map > Background Maps > Map Services…
A "Map Services" window will appear. Click the Add… button and select Mapbox Maps… from the dropdown.
This opens the "Add Mapbox Map" dialog box. Now we just assign the info that we copied on steps 1 and 2 to each respective field:
- Style name: Give your map a descriptive name. For example, "Mapbox Dark Mode" or "Branded Sales Map." This name is what will appear in your list of background maps in Tableau.
- Url: Paste the Tableau Integration URL you copied from Mapbox Studio in Step 2 into this entire box styles/{username}/{style_id}. So, if your username is jsmith and your style ID is clg9q2f8q00bi01p8dd3a0j3r, the syntax would be: styles/jsmith/clg9q2f8q00bi01p8dd3a0j3r.
- API Access Token: Paste the Default public token you copied from your Mapbox account in Step 1.
Click OK and then Close on the subsequent window.

Your map visualization in Tableau will instantly update to use your new, custom Mapbox map as the background layer! To switch between this map and others, simply go back to Map > Background Maps and select your newly named map or any of the Tableau defaults.

Taking it Further: Creating Your Own Style in Mapbox Studio

Using a pre-built style is a great start, but the real power of Mapbox comes from creating a truly custom map. The Mapbox Studio is an intuitive, web-based tool that lets you style every element of a map without writing a single line of code.

How to Create and Use a Custom Style

Create a New Style: In Mapbox Studio, click the "New style" button. You can choose a template (like Monochrome or Basic) to use as a starting point.
Customize Components and Layers: On the left side of the Studio, you’ll see menu tabs named Components and Layers. In the "Components" tab, you can quickly change global properties like the color of water, land, and roads or adjust font styles. The "Layer" tab allows granular customization of every data layer of the map from buildings to highways to city parks.
Publish Your Map: After you've made your desired changes, click the blue Publish button in the top right corner. This makes your changes live.
Use in Tableau: Once published, just follow the exact same process from Step 2 and Step 3 above. Click the "Share" button for your new style, grab the Tableau Integration URL, and add it to Tableau Desktop.

This lets you create maps that are perfectly tailored to your data. Want to de-emphasize roads to make flight paths stand out? You can do that. Need to create a greyscale map so your colored marks are the only focus? Easy.

Common Questions & Troubleshooting Tips

My map in Tableau is just blank. What happened?

The most common cause is a simple copy-and-paste error. Double-check that your Access Token and Style URL are pasted correctly in Tableau, without any extra spaces or characters.

Do I need a paid Mapbox account for this?

No. Mapbox's free tier allows for tens of thousands of map views per month, which is more than enough for development and most standard dashboards. You only pay if your maps receive incredibly high traffic, like on a public-facing website.

Can I add more than one Mapbox map to a workbook?

Absolutely. You can repeat the process in Step 3 to add as many custom maps as you want. Each one will show up in the Map > Background Maps menu, allowing you to choose the perfect map style for each individual worksheet in your dashboard.

Final Thoughts

Integrating Mapbox with Tableau is a simple yet powerful way to elevate your geographic visualizations from generic to exceptional. By adding branded colors, unique base layers, and a focused design, you can create data stories that are clearer, more engaging, and more professional for your audience.

At its core, using tools like Mapbox is all about customizing your reports to get clear answers and communicate them effectively. On our team, we believe that workflow should be seamless. With Graphed, we’ve taken this a step further by letting you connect all of your marketing and sales data sources and create entire real-time dashboards just by describing what you need in plain English - no wrestling with menus required. It’s all about getting you from data to decision faster than ever.