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The loudest cities in Germany, ranked by noise exposure

72 Germany cities make the measured EEA ranking — the 1st-most of any European country here. Essen leads with exposed-resident Lden of 55–75 dB, while half the country's ranked cities fall at or below Lden 62.5 dB.

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Germany agglomerations ranked by measured Lden transport-noise exposure (EU Environmental Noise Directive, 2022 round)
Germany # City Europe # Lden Lnight Source Population
1 Essen 5 55–75 50–65 Road 581,980
2 Solingen 6 55–75 50–65 Road 159,029
3 Aachen 8 55–75 50–65 Road 246,443
4 Kassel 9 55–75 50–65 Road 202,689
5 Remscheid 10 55–75 50–65 Road 111,082
6 Wiesbaden 13 55–75 50–65 Road 282,903
7 Pforzheim 14 55–75 50–65 Road 125,542
8 Saarbruecken 15 55–75 50–65 Road 183,696
9 Bonn 20 55–75 50–65 Road 335,975
10 Heilbronn 21 55–75 50–65 Road 130,870
11 Munich 22 55–75 50–65 Road 1,500,962
12 Moenchengladbach 23 55–70 50–65 Road 270,877
13 Duesseldorf 28 55–75 50–65 Road 644,000
14 Herne 29 55–75 50–65 Road 161,472
15 Osnabrueck 30 55–75 50–65 Road 168,286
16 Augsburg 34 55–75 50–65 Road 297,052
17 Duisburg 35 55–75 50–65 Road 498,182
18 Berlin 36 55–70 50–65 Road 3,606,316
19 Muelheim on the Ruhr 37 55–75 50–65 Road 173,255
20 Recklinghausen 38 55–75 50–65 Road 119,435
21 Wuppertal 39 55–75 50–65 Road 361,774
22 Bottrop 42 55–75 50–65 Road 117,311
23 Chemnitz 43 55–75 50–65 Road 175,193
24 Gelsenkirchen 47 55–75 50–65 Road 259,718
25 Moers 50 55–75 50–65 Road 103,680
26 Halle 51 55–70 50–65 Road 238,367
27 Leipzig 52 55–70 50–65 Road 601,866
28 Potsdam 53 55–70 50–65 Road 175,710
29 Stuttgart 54 55–70 50–65 Road 609,668
30 Luebeck 55 55–70 50–65 Road 216,000
31 Mannheim 56 55–70 50–65 Road 309,370
32 Muenster 57 55–70 50–65 Road 317,000
33 Nuremberg 58 55–70 50–65 Road 519,850
34 Dortmund 62 55–75 50–65 Road 609,781
35 Fuerth 64 55–70 50–65 Road 129,882
36 Krefeld 65 55–70 50–65 Road 227,100
37 Oberhausen 66 55–70 50–65 Road 211,006
38 Kiel 72 55–70 50–65 Road 248,000
39 Koblenz 73 55–70 50–65 Road, Rail 113,161
40 Wuerzburg 74 55–70 50–65 Road 127,459
41 Cologne 78 55–75 50–65 Road 1,087,583
42 Bergisch Gladbach 81 55–70 50–65 Road 111,600
43 Erlangen 82 55–70 50–65 Road 114,328
44 Ludwigshafen 83 55–70 50–65 Road 172,145
45 Hagen 88 55–75 50–65 Road 188,501
46 Frankfurt on the Main 90 55–70 50–65 Road 770,112
47 Hamburg 91 55–70 50–60 Road 1,853,935
48 Ulm 92 55–70 50–65 Road 126,329
49 Bielefeld 96 55–70 50–65 Road 334,002
50 Bremerhaven 97 55–70 50–65 Road 117,537
51 Hanover 98 55–70 50–60 Road 551,001
52 Magdeburg 99 55–70 50–65 Road 237,651
53 Brunswick 105 55–70 50–65 Road 250,889
54 Freiburg 106 55–70 50–65 Road, Rail 230,241
55 Heidelberg 107 55–70 50–60 Road 160,355
56 Neuss 108 55–70 50–65 Road 155,163
57 Bremen 112 55–70 50–65 Road 561,260
58 Bochum 121 55–70 50–65 Road 370,146
59 Dresden 122 55–70 50–60 Road 534,445
60 Reutlingen 123 55–70 50–65 Road 115,793
61 Hildesheim 129 55–70 50–65 Road 104,579
62 Ingolstadt 130 55–70 50–65 Road 138,537
63 Leverkusen 139 55–70 50–65 Road 163,851
64 Goettingen 142 55–70 50–65 Road 136,065
65 Darmstadt 147 55–75 50–65 Road, Air 161,874
66 Karlsruhe 153 55–70 50–60 Road 313,092
67 Mainz 154 55–70 50–65 Road 216,108
68 Regensburg 155 55–70 50–60 Road 154,856
69 Rostock 193 55–70 50–60 Road 208,886
70 Oldenburg 215 55–70 50–60 Road 169,605
71 Hanau 235 55–70 50–65 Air, Road 100,307
72 Offenbach on the Main 239 55–70 50–65 Air 133,277

Germany's 72 ranked cities are home to 25,515,995 residents. By exposed-resident Lden the field reads Essen (55–75 dB), Solingen (55–75 dB), Aachen (55–75 dB), Kassel (55–75 dB), Remscheid (55–75 dB), Wiesbaden (55–75 dB), Pforzheim (55–75 dB), Saarbruecken (55–75 dB), then 64 more, ending at Offenbach on the Main (55–70 dB). The median lands near Lden 62.5 dB. Road traffic dominates 71 of the 72; the rest are led by rail, aircraft or industry. The most populous, Berlin at 3,606,316 residents, ranks #36 across Europe with exposed-resident Lden of 55–70 dB. The WHO road-traffic guideline is 53 dB Lden by day and 45 dB Lnight at night, which most of these Germany cities exceed for their noise-exposed residents.

The figures come straight from the country's END strategic noise maps and the EEA's harmonised 2022 dataset — day-evening-night (Lden) exposure for the noise-affected population only. Lnight, the night-time figure, is the level most closely tied to sleep disturbance, which is why the EU reports it separately from the daytime Lden. Open any Germany city below for its full figures, then measure your own street with the free live meter.

Which Germany cities are the noisiest?

By this EEA data the noisiest Germany cities are the same as the loudest, since "noisiest" here means measured road, rail, aircraft and industrial exposure: Essen, Solingen, Aachen top the list, led by Essen at Lden 55–75 dB (road traffic). The full ranking is in the table above.

Germany noise: the numbers

  • 72 Germany agglomerations are in the measured European ranking — 1st-most of any country here.
  • Loudest: Essen at exposed-resident Lden 55–75 dB (European #5).
  • Quietest ranked: Offenbach on the Main at Lden 55–70 dB; median near Lden 62.5 dB.
  • Road traffic is the dominant source in 71 of the 72.
  • Combined population of the 72: 25,515,995.

How this ranking is measured

These are the same measurements behind the European ranking of all 314 cities — the EU Environmental Noise Directive strategic noise maps (road, rail, aircraft and industry), 2022 reporting round, harmonised by the European Environment Agency, with no estimation by us. Lden is the annual-average day-evening-night level; only residents above the 55 dB Lden threshold are reported, so the ranges describe the noise-exposed population.

How loud is your street?

Rankings describe city-wide exposure — your block is its own story. Check it with the free online decibel meter, or open any city above for its full figures.

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