Increase the distance between the text and the heading along the y axis

Question

Y axis header too close to axis text.

ggplot(mpg, aes(cty, hwy)) + geom_point() 

I tried to change the value of many parameters with theme() , but no one helps.

Answer 1

In ggplot2 2.0.0 you can use the margin = element_text() argument to change the distance between the axis header and the numbers. Set margin values ​​on the t op, r ight, b ottom and l eft side of the element.

 ggplot(mpg, aes(cty, hwy)) + geom_point()+ theme(axis.title.y = element_text(margin = margin(t = 0, r = 20, b = 0, l = 0))) 

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margin can also be used for other element_text elements (see ?theme ), such as axis.text.x , axis.text.y and title .

Answer 2

Based on this forum post: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/ggplot2/mK9DR3dKIBU

It seems that the easiest way is to add a line break (\ n) before your x axis and after your y axis labels. It seems a lot easier (albeit dumb) than the solutions posted above.

 ggplot(mpg, aes(cty, hwy)) + geom_point() + xlab("\nYour_x_Label") + ylab("Your_y_Label\n") 

Hope this helps!