d3.precisionPrefix()

d3.precisionPrefix(step, value)

Returns a suggested decimal precision for use with locale.formatPrefix given the specified numeric step and reference value. The step represents the minimum absolute difference between values that will be formatted, and value determines which SI prefix will be used. (This assumes that the values to be formatted are also multiples of step.) For example, given the numbers 1.1e6, 1.2e6, and 1.3e6, the step should be 1e5, the value could be 1.3e6, and the suggested precision is 1:

var p = d3.precisionPrefix(1e5, 1.3e6),
    f = d3.formatPrefix("." + p, 1.3e6);
f(1.1e6); // "1.1M"
f(1.2e6); // "1.2M"
f(1.3e6); // "1.3M"