How to put the title at the bottom of a figure in Matplotlib?

In Matplotlib, you can position the title at the bottom of a figure by adjusting the y parameter in the title() method. This is useful for creating custom layouts or when you want the title to appear below the plot area.

Basic Approach

Use the y parameter in plt.title() to control vertical positioning. Values below 1.0 move the title downward ?

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Set figure size
plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = [7.50, 3.50]
plt.rcParams["figure.autolayout"] = True

# Generate sample data
N = 100
x = np.random.rand(N)
y = np.random.rand(N)

# Create scatter plot
plt.scatter(x, y, c=x, s=x*100+1, cmap="plasma")

# Position title at bottom using negative y value
plt.title('Scatter Plot with Bottom Title', y=-0.01)

plt.show()

Different Positioning Options

You can experiment with different y values to achieve the desired positioning ?

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

fig, axes = plt.subplots(2, 2, figsize=(10, 6))
x = np.linspace(0, 10, 100)
y = np.sin(x)

# Different y positions for title
positions = [1.02, 0.5, -0.05, -0.15]
labels = ['Above (y=1.02)', 'Middle (y=0.5)', 'Bottom (y=-0.05)', 'Far Bottom (y=-0.15)']

for i, (ax, pos, label) in enumerate(zip(axes.flat, positions, labels)):
    ax.plot(x, y)
    ax.set_title(label, y=pos)
    ax.grid(True, alpha=0.3)

plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

Using Figure-Level Title

For more control, use fig.suptitle() with y parameter ?

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 5))

# Sample data
x = np.random.randn(1000)
y = np.random.randn(1000)

ax.scatter(x, y, alpha=0.6, c='blue')
ax.set_xlabel('X values')
ax.set_ylabel('Y values')

# Position figure title at bottom
fig.suptitle('Figure Title at Bottom', y=0.02)

plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

Key Parameters

Conclusion

Use y=-0.01 or similar negative values in plt.title() to position titles at the bottom. For figure-level control, use fig.suptitle() with low y values like 0.02.