Your First Map in ArcGIS Pro¶

Goal: End this tutorial with a real map, styled, labeled, and exported. ~30 minutes.

What you'll need¶

• ArcGIS Pro installed and licensed (1-year free for students).
• An internet connection (for the basemap).
• That's it.

Step 1 — Create a project¶

1. Launch ArcGIS Pro.
2. Click New → Map.
3. Name: first_map. Location: C:\GIS\projects\first_map.
4. Tick Create a new folder for this project. Click OK.

A new map opens, with a default basemap.

Step 2 — Add data¶

We'll use ArcGIS Living Atlas — Esri's hosted catalog of authoritative data.

1. In the Catalog Pane (right side) → Portal → Living Atlas.
2. Search "USA Counties" — find the USA Counties (Generalized) layer.
3. Right-click → Add To Current Map.
4. Search "USA States" → add it.
5. Search "USA Major Cities" → add it.

You should now see counties (background), states (mid), cities (top) in the Contents pane.

Step 3 — Zoom to your area¶

1. Right-click the States layer → Zoom to Layer.
2. Use scroll-wheel to zoom into your state.
3. In Map ribbon → Bookmarks → New Bookmark — call it "My state".

Step 4 — Style each layer¶

States — outline only¶

1. Click the symbol below "USA States" in Contents.
2. Pick Black Outline, width 1.5 pt, no fill.

Counties — choropleth by population¶

1. Right-click counties → Symbology.
2. Primary symbology = Graduated Colors.
3. Field = POP2020 (or whatever population field exists).
4. Method = Natural Breaks, classes = 5.
5. Color scheme = sequential blue.
6. Legend → click "More" → Format All Symbols → outline = 0.25 pt, gray.

Cities — proportional points¶

1. Right-click cities → Symbology.
2. Primary symbology = Graduated Symbols (or Proportional Symbols).
3. Field = POP2020. Min size 4, max 18.
4. Marker = circle, fill = warm orange, white outline 0.5 pt.

You should now have a styled, layered map.

Step 5 — Label cities¶

1. Click the cities layer.
2. In the Labeling ribbon → click Label to turn on.
3. Field = NAME.
4. Symbol → font size 9, color dark gray, halo white 1 pt.
5. Position → Best Position.

If the labels look too crowded, set a scale visibility range so they only show when zoomed in. Layer Properties → Display.

Step 6 — Filter to top cities¶

Cities is too dense. Let's keep only big ones.

1. Right-click cities → Properties → Definition Query.
2. New query: POP2020 > 100000.
3. Click OK.

Only cities with > 100k population now appear.

Step 7 — Build a layout¶

1. Insert ribbon → New Layout → Letter (8.5 × 11) Landscape.
2. Activate the new Layout tab.
3. Insert → Map Frame → drag a big rectangle.
4. Pick the Map you've been working on.

The map appears in the layout. To zoom inside it: right-click → Activate. Pan/zoom to your bookmarked view. Layout → Close Activation.

Step 8 — Add the essentials¶

In the Insert ribbon, add:

1. Title (top center): "Population by County, 2020". Bold, 22 pt.
2. Legend (right side). Click → Format Legend → uncheck cities (or keep), tidy labels.
3. Scale Bar (bottom). Pick Stepped Scale Line 1. Attach to your map frame.
4. North Arrow (corner). Subtle.
5. Text (bottom): "Source: USA Counties (Esri Living Atlas), 2020. Map by [your name]." 8 pt.

Step 9 — Export¶

1. Share ribbon → Export Layout.
2. Format = PDF.
3. Resolution = 300 dpi.
4. Tick Embed all document fonts.
5. Click Export.

Open the PDF. You have your first map.

Step 10 — Save the project¶

Ctrl+S. Done.

Reflection¶

You just did:

• ✅ Project creation
• ✅ Data discovery (Living Atlas)
• ✅ Symbology (graduated colors + proportional symbols)
• ✅ Labeling (Maplex)
• ✅ Definition queries
• ✅ Layouts and exports

That's most of an entry-level GIS analyst's daily toolkit.

Next¶

Try it again with your local data — pull a CSV with city stats from your state and re-do the workflow. The repetition is what locks it in.

→ Or: Create a Choropleth Map for a deeper dive on the most common map type.