{"id":1595402,"date":"2022-07-07T07:41:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T14:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1595402"},"modified":"2025-08-15T07:29:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:29:14","slug":"creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","title":{"rendered":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App"},"author":3851,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23341,37171,430222],"tags":[766122,266462],"industry":[],"product":[36711],"class_list":["post-1595402","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analytics","category-business","category-retail","tag-custom-variables","tag-esri-demographics","product-bus-analyst"],"acf":{"related_articles":"","short_description":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

ArcGIS Business Analyst includes access to over 15,000 variables – that\u2019s an incredible amount of data at your fingertips! But do you ever find yourself scrolling though the data browser and not finding that one specific variable you need?\u00a0 Did you know that you can easily create your own custom variables to use in mapping, analysis, and reports?\u00a0 Or maybe you already know about the Create Custom Variable tool but feel a bit unsure about how to go about creating your own variables.\u00a0 If so, this article is written just for you.\u00a0 We\u2019ll provide instructions and some of our insider tips and tricks, so you feel comfortable in creating custom variables.<\/p>\n

Business Analyst makes it simple to create some of the most popular custom variables for age, household income, home value, housing units, and race.\u00a0 The application also has a straightforward process to guide you through creating more advanced custom variables using mathematical operators and easy ways to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1597602,"id":1597602,"title":"Create Custom Variable panel","filename":"Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","filesize":25784,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\/create-custom-variable-panel","alt":"Create custom variable panel","author":"3851","description":"","caption":"","name":"create-custom-variable-panel","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1595402,"date":"2022-06-08 20:38:33","modified":"2022-06-08 20:39:05","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1265,"height":753,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","medium-width":438,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":457,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","large-width":1265,"large-height":753,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","1536x1536-width":1265,"1536x1536-height":753,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","2048x2048-width":1265,"2048x2048-height":753,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel-781x465.png","card_image-width":781,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Create-Custom-Variable-panel.png","wide_image-width":1265,"wide_image-height":753}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Creating a household income variable<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We will start by creating a simple household income variable.\u00a0 Household income variables are some of the most popular created custom variables.\u00a0 For the U.S., the Household Income category contains Esri household income variables divided into nine predefined income ranges, beginning at income less than $15,000 and ranging to $200,000 or greater. However, those predefined ranges may not be exactly what you need for your analysis.\u00a0 Perhaps your targeted audience\u2019s household income range is $75K and greater, but that specific range variable is not listed in the category.\u00a0 No worries, you can easily create the variable using the Create a custom variable<\/strong> option.\u00a0 Let\u2019s walk through the process using the data browser in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App.<\/p>\n

The data browser is an in-app interface that categorizes and displays all the data variables available in Business Analyst and provides the option to create custom variables.\u00a0 You can access the data browser though many of the Business Analyst workflows, such as Color-Coded Maps, Smart Map Search, Suitability Analysis, Comparison Reports and Build Reports.\u00a0 For this example, we will create a comparison report.<\/p>\n

To begin, click the Reports<\/strong> tab and click Comparison Reports<\/strong>.\u00a0 The workflow opens to the last used report.\u00a0You will need to add at least one site to make the workflow active. If no sites are displayed, click the Add Sites<\/strong> button to add a site. Click Add variables<\/strong> to open the data browser.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1597662,"id":1597662,"title":"Comparison Reports","filename":"Comparison-Reports.png","filesize":86260,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\/comparison-reports-2","alt":"Add variables to comparison reports","author":"3851","description":"","caption":"","name":"comparison-reports-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1595402,"date":"2022-06-08 20:45:20","modified":"2022-06-08 20:46:27","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1808,"height":1064,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports.png","medium-width":444,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":452,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports.png","large-width":1808,"large-height":1064,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports-1536x904.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":904,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports.png","2048x2048-width":1808,"2048x2048-height":1064,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports-790x465.png","card_image-width":790,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Comparison-Reports.png","wide_image-width":1808,"wide_image-height":1064}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

 <\/p>\n

To create the custom household income variable in the Comparison Reports workflow, do the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Click Create a custom variable <\/strong>to open the Create Custom Variable<\/strong>
    \n\"Click<\/li>\n
  2. Click Household income variable.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Leave the default year selection.<\/li>\n
  4. Set the household income range by either moving the slider or entering $75,000<\/strong> for the minimum value in the text box.
    \n\"Set<\/li>\n
  5. Once you have made your selections, click Add.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Leave the default variable name, Household Incomes $75,000+<\/strong> and click Save<\/strong>.
    \n\"Default<\/li>\n
  7. The custom variable is added to the workflow and saved for future use. Click the Switch rows and columns<\/strong> option in the upper left of the table to view variables in rows as shown in this image.
    \n\"Custom<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tip:<\/strong> You can also create custom variables for age by clicking the Age variables<\/strong> tab or for home value, housing units and race by clicking on Other popular variables<\/strong>.\u00a0 The Create Custom Variable <\/strong> workflow walks you through the process of creating these variables.
    \n\"Home<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Creating advanced custom variables<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Now that you know how to create popular custom variables, we will take a deeper dive into creating advanced custom variables. You can build advanced custom variables from any of the data categories in the data browser and use mathematical operators to combine them. A variable can be displayed as a count, a percentage, an average, or an index value.<\/p>\n

    In this advanced custom variable example, we will create an index variable for household incomes greater than $75K compared to the household income for the United States. The Index compares the variable value for a selected area to the variable value for the country.<\/p>\n

    The following instructions will walk you through the steps. You can also watch this helpful video that guides you through creating custom variables.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_fp1dzulm","time":false,"start":0,"stop":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    To create the household income index variable, we first need the percentage of households with income greater than $75K for the whole USA. We\u2019ll use this information in the custom calculation. To find this value, we can edit the custom variable we just created, \u201cHousehold Incomes $75,000+<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

    You can access the custom saved household income variable you just created in the data browser by clicking My data<\/strong> > Saved Variables<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. In your comparison report, click Add Variable<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    2. When the data browser opens, click Saved Variables<\/strong>.
      \n\"Click<\/li>\n
    3. In the Refine results<\/strong> panel, under My Data<\/strong>, click on Custom Variables \u201conly\u201d<\/strong> to show only the custom variables you have created.
      \n\"Refine<\/li>\n
    4. Click on the arrow next to Custom Variables<\/strong> to expand the list and display all the variables. The most recent custom variable will be shown at the top of the variable list.<\/li>\n
    5. Click Edit this variable <\/strong>(the pencil icon).
      \n\"Edit<\/li>\n
    6. The Create Custom Variable<\/strong> window opens, where the variable can be edited to display as a percent instead of the number value.<\/li>\n
    7. Under Assemble your custom variable<\/strong>, each variable used to calculate your custom variable is displayed. Click the % <\/strong>button for each variable to change the calculation method from count to percentage. Click Add<\/strong>.
      \n\"Custom<\/li>\n
    8. Enter a name for the new variable, \u201cHousehold Incomes $75,000 + Percent<\/strong>\u201d.<\/li>\n
    9. Enter \u201c2<\/strong>\u201d for the number of decimal places to display and click Save<\/strong>.
      \n\"Save<\/li>\n
    10. The Selected variables<\/strong> pane opens with the new variable already selected. Click Apply<\/strong> to add the new custom percentage variable to the report.
      \n\"Selected<\/li>\n
    11. To create the household income index variable, we\u2019ll use the new percentage variable to determine the percentage of households with income greater than $75K for the whole country. This is easily accomplished in the comparison reports workflow.<\/li>\n
    12. In the comparison report, click Add sites<\/strong> > Neighboring geographies<\/strong>. Select the USA<\/strong> checkbox and click Apply<\/strong>.
      \n\"Click<\/li>\n
    13. The USA is added in the comparison report. As you can see, 44.35% of households in the USA have income $75,000 or higher. Write down the number down \u201c0.4435<\/strong>\u201d because it is needed to create the index variable.
      \n\"Comparing<\/li>\n
    14. Now that we have this important information, we can create the household income index variable.<\/li>\n
    15. In the comparison report, click Add variables<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    16. Click Create a custom variable<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    17. Click Advanced custom variable<\/strong> and then click on the Income <\/strong>category.
      \n\"Click<\/li>\n
    18. Click Household Income<\/strong> and select all the current year variables $75 K and greater by clicking the checkbox for each.<\/li>\n
    19. Click Add Selected Variables<\/strong>.
      \n\"Click<\/li>\n
    20. Click Add as Separate Variables<\/strong>.
      \n\"Click<\/li>\n
    21. Click the \u201c%\u201d<\/strong> button for each variable.<\/li>\n
    22. Click the \u201c(<\/strong>\u201d opened parenthesis to add to the expression and move it to the beginning of the variable calculation. Do this by dragging it to the front of the expression.<\/li>\n
    23. Click the \u201c)<\/strong>\u201d closed parenthesis. By default, it should be placed at the end of the expression.<\/li>\n
    24. Click the \u201c\/<\/strong>\u201d Divide symbol.<\/li>\n
    25. Click Add Number <\/strong>and enter \u201c0.4435<\/strong>\u201d in the number box. (The number from step 13.)<\/li>\n
    26. Your expression should look as shown in the image below.
      \n\"Expression<\/li>\n
    27. Click Add<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    28. Enter a custom variable name, Household Income Greater than 75K Index<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    29. Leave the default \u201c0\u201d decimal places and click Save<\/strong>.
      \n\"Save<\/li>\n
    30. Click Apply<\/strong> to add the variable to the comparison report.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Here you can see the Household Income Greater than $75K<\/strong> Index<\/strong> custom variable. This is expressed as an index of value where 100 represents the average for the United States. The index of value compares the variable value for a specific area to the variable value for the country. In this example, the index is calculated by taking the average household income in a 1-mile ring around my site, Redlands, divided by the average of the base, whereas the base in this case is the USA.
      \n\"Set
      \nWhen creating advanced custom variables, it\u2019s helpful to understand the variable calculations. From the ArcGIS Business Analyst help documentation, learn more about variable calculations<\/a>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

      Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      In this article, we first created a count variable for household incomes above $75K, and then edited the count variable to create a percent variable and used that to find the household income percent for the USA so we could lastly create the index of percent value.<\/p>\n

      These examples, tips, and video should provide you with a better understanding of creating custom variables, so you can create your own simple and advanced custom variables.\u00a0 Please give us your feedback, because we would love to hear what other types of custom variables you would like to create.<\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":3851,"user_firstname":"Donna","user_lastname":"Buhr","nickname":"dbuhr","user_nicename":"dbuhr","display_name":"Donna Buhr","user_email":"dbuhr@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:15:27","user_description":"Donna is a Product Engineer on the Business Analyst Team. She is passionate about helping users learn how to apply the application to solve problems and make smarter decisions.","user_avatar":""},{"ID":4211,"user_firstname":"Jeff","user_lastname":"Hincy","nickname":"Jeff Hincy","user_nicename":"jhincy","display_name":"Jeff Hincy","user_email":"jhincy@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:15:49","user_description":"","user_avatar":""}],"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/04\/SmallBannerAdobestock-234980327W1140.jpg","wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/04\/AAadobestock-234980327_W1920.jpg","show_article_image":false},"yoast_head":"\nCreating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Create advanced custom variables, using mathematical operators, to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Create advanced custom variables, using mathematical operators, to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ArcGIS Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-15T14:29:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ESRI\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Donna Buhr\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/be80e9f80d15d8b0ffff91165f6ff29e\"},\"headline\":\"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-07T14:41:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-15T14:29:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\"},\"wordCount\":9,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"custom variables\",\"Esri Demographics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analytics\",\"Business\",\"Retail\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\",\"name\":\"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-07T14:41:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-15T14:29:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"Create advanced custom variables, using mathematical operators, to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/\",\"name\":\"ArcGIS Blog\",\"description\":\"Get insider info from Esri product teams\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Esri\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Esri.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Esri.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Esri\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ESRI\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/5311\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/be80e9f80d15d8b0ffff91165f6ff29e\",\"name\":\"Donna Buhr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo_DB-2-213x200.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo_DB-2-213x200.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Donna Buhr\"},\"description\":\"Donna is a Product Engineer on the Business Analyst Team. She is passionate about helping users learn how to apply the application to solve problems and make smarter decisions.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/author\/dbuhr\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App","description":"Create advanced custom variables, using mathematical operators, to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App","og_description":"Create advanced custom variables, using mathematical operators, to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","og_site_name":"ArcGIS Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","article_modified_time":"2025-08-15T14:29:14+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@ESRI","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app"},"author":{"name":"Donna Buhr","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/be80e9f80d15d8b0ffff91165f6ff29e"},"headline":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App","datePublished":"2022-07-07T14:41:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-15T14:29:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app"},"wordCount":9,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["custom variables","Esri Demographics"],"articleSection":["Analytics","Business","Retail"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","name":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-07-07T14:41:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-15T14:29:14+00:00","description":"Create advanced custom variables, using mathematical operators, to add numbers and calculate sums and averages.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Creating custom variables in ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/","name":"ArcGIS Blog","description":"Get insider info from Esri product teams","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#organization","name":"Esri","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Esri.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Esri.png","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Esri"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ESRI","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/5311\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/be80e9f80d15d8b0ffff91165f6ff29e","name":"Donna Buhr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo_DB-2-213x200.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo_DB-2-213x200.jpg","caption":"Donna Buhr"},"description":"Donna is a Product Engineer on the Business Analyst Team. She is passionate about helping users learn how to apply the application to solve problems and make smarter decisions.","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/author\/dbuhr"}]}},"text_date":"July 7, 2022","author_name":"Multiple Authors","author_page":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/business\/creating-custom-variables-in-arcgis-business-analyst-web-app","custom_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/04\/AAadobestock-234980327_W1920.jpg","primary_product":"ArcGIS Business Analyst","tag_data":[{"term_id":766122,"name":"custom variables","slug":"custom-variables","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":766122,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":266462,"name":"Esri Demographics","slug":"esri-demographics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":266462,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":64,"filter":"raw"}],"category_data":[{"term_id":23341,"name":"Analytics","slug":"analytics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":23341,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1333,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":37171,"name":"Business","slug":"business","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":37171,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":281,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":430222,"name":"Retail","slug":"retail","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":430222,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":33,"filter":"raw"}],"product_data":[{"term_id":36711,"name":"ArcGIS Business Analyst","slug":"bus-analyst","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":36711,"taxonomy":"product","description":"","parent":36591,"count":427,"filter":"raw"}],"primary_product_link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?s=#&products=bus-analyst","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1595402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3851"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1595402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1595402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1595402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1595402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1595402"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1595402"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=1595402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}