PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Infographic, chart, or map

How to Cite an Infographic, Chart, or Map in APA 7

An APA 7 reference for an infographic, chart, or map lists the creator, the year in parentheses, the title in italics and sentence case, a short description of the format in square brackets, like [Infographic], [Chart], or [Map], the publisher (left out when it's the same as the creator), and the URL. The in-text citation is the creator and the year: (Hales, 2024). A Google Maps reference uses Google as the author, n.d. for the date, a bracketed description in place of a title, and the date you looked at the map: (Google, n.d.).

The format

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work [Infographic]. Publisher. URL

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Choose Charts, Infographics, & Maps. There's no kind to pick: the same form covers infographics, charts, maps, and Google Maps. Under Role, pick Author for a person, or Group Author (Organization) for an agency or company, and put its short form, like NIOSH, in Abbrev. so PERRLA uses it in your later citations.

Type the title in Title of the Work. If you type it in title case, PERRLA points it out and offers Fix it for me to switch it to sentence case. Type the format in Description, like Infographic, Chart, or Map, without square brackets: PERRLA adds them. Fill in the Publication Year, the Publisher or Producer, and the URL (Web address). When the publisher matches the group author, PERRLA leaves it off for you.

For Google Maps or another map that changes, leave Title of the Work and Publication Year empty, describe the map in Description (for example, Google Maps driving directions from Tuba City, Arizona, to Flagstaff Medical Center), and set the Retrieval Date to the day you looked at it. PERRLA prints n.d., puts your description in square brackets, and adds the retrieval date. PERRLA's reference search reads most links as webpages, so add an infographic, chart, or map by hand to get the right reference type and its label.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Author

Start with whoever made the visual. A person goes in as last name, comma, and initials. An agency, company, or other organization goes in spelled out in full.

Hales, L. J.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The author is who created the graphic, not who collected the data in it. The CDC's obesity maps are built from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, but the CDC made the maps, so the CDC is the author. For Google Maps, the author is Google.

No author at all? The title moves to the front, before the year. If there's no title either, the bracketed description moves to the front.

2. Year

Put the year the graphic was published, or last updated, in parentheses, followed by a period.

(2018).

A map page that's refreshed every year takes the year of the version you used. A dynamic map, like Google Maps, has no fixed date, so it takes n.d.

(n.d.).

3. Title

Write the title in italics and in sentence case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns, even when the graphic prints its title in capitals or title case.

Respirator use and infection control in healthcare

A Google Maps route or any other untitled visual has no title to italicize. Describe it in square brackets instead, in plain type: [Google Maps driving directions from Tuba City, Arizona, to Flagstaff Medical Center].

4. Description in brackets

Right after the title, name the format in square brackets, capitalized and not italic, then a period. This label tells your reader it's a visual and not an article or webpage.

Respirator use and infection control in healthcare [Infographic].

Use the word that fits what you're looking at: Infographic, Chart, Map, or Maps for a set. When an untitled work already has a bracketed description in place of the title, that description does both jobs, so don't add a second one.

5. Publisher

Give the organization that published the graphic, as it names itself. For a government agency inside a larger department, give the department first, then the agency.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

When the publisher is the same as the group author, leave it off, so the name isn't printed twice. That's why the NIOSH and CDC references go straight from the bracket to the URL. Google Maps needs no publisher either: Google is already the author.

6. Retrieval date

Add a retrieval date only for a visual that's designed to change, like Google Maps or an interactive map that updates with live data. Write Retrieved, the date you looked at it, a comma, and from, right before the URL.

Retrieved October 21, 2026, from

A published infographic, chart, or map with a date doesn't change, so it gets no retrieval date.

7. URL

End with the link to the page where the graphic lives, not the link to the image file, with no period after it.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/109859

For Google Maps, copy the link to the map or route you used. A long Google link is fine, and so is the shorter link Google gives you when you share the map, as long as it opens the same view.

Examples

An infographic by a government agency

A one-page NIOSH infographic on when, how, and what respirators to wear in healthcare, from CDC Stacks. The agency is both the author and the publisher, so its name appears once. The first citation spells out the name and gives NIOSH, and later citations use NIOSH alone.

  • Parenthetical citation(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH], 2018)
  • Narrative citationThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, 2018)
  • Later citations(NIOSH, 2018)

A chart with an individual author

A USDA Economic Research Service chart showing that household food insecurity rose in 2023, from its Charts of Note series. The chart names its author, so she goes first, and the agency is the publisher.

  • Parenthetical citation(Hales, 2024)
  • Narrative citationHales (2024)

A set of maps from an organization

The CDC's Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps, updated in September 2026 with 2025 data. The CDC refreshes this page every year, so cite the year of the version you used, and use [Maps] for a set.

  • Parenthetical citation(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2026)
  • Narrative citationThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2026)
  • Later citations(CDC, 2026)

Google Maps directions

Google Maps driving directions from Tuba City, Arizona, to Flagstaff Medical Center, about 78 miles, the kind of route a community health paper uses to show how far patients travel for hospital care. Google is the author, there's no date, a description in brackets stands in for the title, and the retrieval date shows when you looked.

  • Parenthetical citation(Google, n.d.)
  • Narrative citationGoogle (n.d.)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for an infographic, chart, or map gives the creator and the year. Visuals have no page numbers, so there's nothing to add after the year.

  • A person: (Hales, 2024) or Hales (2024)
  • A group author with a familiar abbreviation: spell it out the first time with the abbreviation in square brackets, then use the abbreviation: (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH], 2018), then (NIOSH, 2018). In a sentence: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, 2018) lays out when healthcare workers need a respirator. Only set up an abbreviation when you'll cite the group several times; otherwise spell the name out every time.
  • Google Maps or any undated map: (Google, n.d.). If you cite two different Google Maps views, add letters after n.d. so each citation points to its own reference: (Google, n.d.-a) and (Google, n.d.-b).
  • No author: use the title in italics and title case: (Title of the Infographic, 2021). With no author and no title, use the bracketed description.

Putting the graphic in your paper? When you reproduce an infographic, chart, or map as a figure, give it a figure number and title, and credit it in the figure note with a copyright attribution instead of an in-text citation. The attribution has the same pieces as the reference in a different order: From Respirator Use and Infection Control in Healthcare [Infographic], by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2018 (https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/140478). In the public domain. Then list the graphic on your references page as usual. Work by U.S. federal agencies, like NIOSH, the CDC, and the USDA, is in the public domain. For anything else, follow the graphic's license or copyright notice.

Common mistakes

  • Respirator use and infection control in healthcare [Infographic].Respirator use and infection control in healthcare [Infographic].Only the title is italic. The bracketed description is a label you add, not part of the title, so it stays in plain type.
  • Google Maps. (2026). Tuba City to Flagstaff Medical Center. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/...Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps driving directions from Tuba City, Arizona, to Flagstaff Medical Center]. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.google.com/maps/dir/...Google is the author, a dynamic map has no date, and a route you generated has no title. Describe it in brackets, and add the retrieval date because the map can change.
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2018). Respirator use and infection control in healthcare [Infographic]. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/140478National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2018). Respirator use and infection control in healthcare [Infographic]. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/140478When the publisher is the same as the group author, APA leaves the publisher off instead of printing the name twice.
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. (2026). Adult obesity prevalence maps [Maps].Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026). Adult obesity prevalence maps [Maps].The author is who made the visual, not the survey or database behind it. If you analyze the underlying numbers yourself, cite the data set separately.
  • Prevalence of U.S. Household Food Insecurity Increased in 2023 [Chart].Prevalence of U.S. household food insecurity increased in 2023 [Chart].Titles of visual works take sentence case in the reference, even when the page prints them in title case. Keep proper nouns, like U.S., capitalized.

Quick checklist

  • The creator first: a person, an organization, or Google for Google Maps
  • The year in parentheses, or n.d. for a dynamic map
  • The title in italics and sentence case, or a bracketed description when there's no title
  • [Infographic], [Chart], or [Map] right after the title, not italic
  • The publisher, unless it's the same as the author
  • A retrieval date only for a map or chart that changes
  • The URL of the page, with no period after it

Questions students ask

How do I cite Google Maps in APA 7?

Use Google as the author and n.d. for the date. In place of a title, describe the map or route in square brackets, then add Retrieved, the date you looked at it, and from, before the URL. The in-text citation is (Google, n.d.).

Do I need a retrieval date for an infographic or chart?

Usually not. A published infographic or chart with a date stays the same, so it needs no retrieval date. Add one only for a visual built to change, like Google Maps or an interactive map that updates with live data.

How do I cite an infographic I put in my paper?

Number it and title it as a figure, then credit it in the figure note with a copyright attribution, which takes the place of the in-text citation. The attribution starts with From, then the title in title case and italics, the bracketed description, by and the author, the year, and the URL, followed by the copyright or license line. List the infographic on your references page too.

What if the infographic has no author or no date?

With no author, the title moves to the front of the reference, before the year, and the in-text citation uses the title in italics and title case. With no date, write n.d. in place of the year. Most infographics are made by an organization, though, so check the page and the bottom of the graphic for a logo or credit line first.

How do I cite a chart or map from a journal article or report?

Cite the article or report it came from, not the chart on its own, and give the page in the in-text citation if you point to it. If you reproduce the chart as a figure, the figure note says From and then the article's details. A chart or map only gets its own reference when it's published by itself, like the examples on this page.

I found an infographic on Pinterest. What do I cite?

Follow the pin back to the original creator's page and cite that version, with the creator as the author and their page's URL. A pin is usually a copy, and the person who pinned it isn't the creator. If you can't find who made it, look for a source you can trace.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.10–8.11, 8.14, 8.21, 9.8, 9.11–9.12, 9.14, 9.16–9.17, 9.19, 9.21–9.22, 9.29, 9.34–9.35, 9.47, 10.14, and 12.14–12.18, and the APA Style website's reference examples and clip art and stock image guidance on copyright attributions. Example sources verified on October 21, 2026: the NIOSH infographic's author, title, date, and series on its CDC Stacks record; the ERS chart's author, title, and date on the chart page and in its page data; the CDC maps' title and September 24, 2026, update on the CDC page; and the Google Maps route loaded in Google Maps.

PERRLA builds infographic, chart, and map references with the bracketed label, the right date, and the retrieval date when a map can change.

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