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The loudest cities in Sweden, ranked by noise exposure

Among Sweden's 18 ranked agglomerations, Huddinge is the noisiest: its exposed population lives with Lden 55–70 dB of day-evening-night transport noise, #134 of all European cities measured. The typical Sweden city in the list centres near Lden 61.3 dB.

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Sweden agglomerations ranked by measured Lden transport-noise exposure (EU Environmental Noise Directive, 2022 round)
Sweden # City Europe # Lden Lnight Source Population
1 Huddinge 134 55–70 50–65 Rail, Road 112,848
2 Malmo 135 55–70 50–65 Road 344,166
3 Jonkoping 174 55–70 50–65 Road 141,081
4 Norrkoping 202 55–70 50–65 Road, Rail 143,171
5 Vasteras 203 55–70 50–65 Road 154,049
6 Gavle 225 55–70 50–65 Road, Rail 102,418
7 Lund 226 55–70 50–60 Road, Rail 124,935
8 Uppsala 232 55–70 50–65 Road 230,767
9 Gothenburg 236 55–70 50–60 Road 579,281
10 Orebro 237 50–70 50–65 Road 155,696
11 Helsingborg 252 50–70 50–65 Road 147,734
12 Umea 257 50–65 50–60 Road 128,901
13 Stockholm 259 50–70 50–65 Road 974,073
14 Nacka 264 50–70 50–60 Rail, Road 105,189
15 Eskilstuna 267 50–65 50–65 Road 106,859
16 Halmstad 276 50–65 50–60 Road 102,767
17 Boras 278 50–65 40–60 Road 113,179
18 Linkoping 301 45–65 40–60 Road, Rail 163,051

Across Sweden, 18 cities make the measured European ranking — 3,930,165 people combined. In order of Lden exposure: Huddinge (55–70 dB), Malmo (55–70 dB), Jonkoping (55–70 dB), Norrkoping (55–70 dB), Vasteras (55–70 dB), Gavle (55–70 dB), Lund (55–70 dB), Uppsala (55–70 dB), then 10 more, down to Linkoping (45–65 dB). The midpoint sits near Lden 61.3 dB. Road traffic is the dominant source in all 18. The most populous, Stockholm at 974,073 residents, ranks #259 across Europe with exposed-resident Lden of 50–70 dB. The WHO road-traffic guideline is 53 dB Lden by day and 45 dB Lnight at night, which most of these Sweden cities exceed for their noise-exposed residents.

Every range is reported exposure: the EEA's 2022 END dataset, counting people above the 55 dB Lden threshold from road, rail, aircraft and industrial sources — nothing modelled by us. 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 Sweden city below for its full figures, then measure your own street with the free live meter.

Which Sweden cities are the noisiest?

By this EEA data the noisiest Sweden cities are the same as the loudest, since "noisiest" here means measured road, rail, aircraft and industrial exposure: Huddinge, Malmo, Jonkoping top the list, led by Huddinge at Lden 55–70 dB (railways and road traffic). The full ranking is in the table above.

Sweden noise: the numbers

  • 18 Sweden agglomerations are in the measured European ranking — 7th-most of any country here.
  • Loudest: Huddinge at exposed-resident Lden 55–70 dB (European #134).
  • Quietest ranked: Linkoping at Lden 45–65 dB; median near Lden 61.3 dB.
  • Road traffic is the dominant source in 18 of the 18.
  • Combined population of the 18: 3,930,165.

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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