Stem and leaf plot maker
Paste your numbers: the tens become stems, the ones become leaves, and the key is written out under the plot.
One column of numbers, or numbers separated by commas or spaces.
Drawing…
23 values, 5 stems in use. Key: 5 | 2 = 52.
How to use it
- Step 1Paste your numbers into the box — two-digit numbers like test scores are what this plot was made for.
- Step 2Split the stems if a row is getting crowded, or change what one leaf is worth if your data has decimals.
- Step 3Download the plot as a PNG or an SVG for your homework, or share it as a link.
How a stem and leaf plot is built
Each number is cut into two parts. The last digit is the leaf; everything in front of it is the stem. The score 87 becomes a stem of 8 and a leaf of 7, and it goes on the row with every other value in the eighties, whose leaves are listed in order beside it. Read a row back and you have the original numbers — that is the point of the plot: it shows the shape of the data like a histogram while keeping every value.
The key under the plot says which is which. "8 | 7 = 87" is not decoration; without it the same rows could mean 8.7 or 870, and a plot handed in without a key is marked down for exactly that reason.
Empty stems, split stems and decimals
A stem with no leaves stays on the plot. The gap between the fifties and the eighties is information — leaving the empty rows out would squeeze the picture and hide it.
When most of the data lands on two or three stems, the plot turns into a few long rows and stops showing a shape. Splitting the stems fixes it: each one appears twice, first with the leaves 0 to 4 and then with 5 to 9, which doubles the rows and spreads the data out.
Decimals are handled by what a leaf is worth. With values like 3.2 and 4.7 the page uses tenths, so a stem of 3 and a leaf of 2 mean 3.2 — and the key says so. You can set it by hand when the automatic choice does not match what your assignment asks for.
Negative numbers and large ones
Negative values keep their sign on the stem, so −5 sits on the row written "-0" with a leaf of 5, and the rows below zero are ordered underneath the rows above it. Very large numbers would otherwise produce hundreds of stems, so the page scales what a leaf is worth: with data in the thousands, one leaf stands for ten or a hundred, and the key spells out the scale.
Questions and answers
How do I make a stem and leaf plot?
Split each number into all-but-the-last digit (the stem) and the last digit (the leaf), list the stems in order down the left, and write each leaf beside its stem in order. This page does it as you paste, key included.
How does a stem and leaf plot work?
Each row collects the numbers that share a stem, so the length of a row is how many values are in that range — the shape of a histogram — while the leaves keep the original numbers readable.
What is the key for?
It says what one leaf is worth. "3 | 2 = 32" and "3 | 2 = 3.2" are the same picture with different meanings, so every stem and leaf plot has to carry its key.
When should I split the stems?
When your data crowds onto a few rows. Splitting puts the leaves 0–4 on one row and 5–9 on the next, which shows a shape that a handful of long rows hides.
Can I use it for decimals?
Yes. The page uses tenths as the leaf when the data has decimals, and the key says so. You can also set the leaf value yourself.