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The quietest big cities in the US and Europe

Of the 297 US cities over 100,000 residents, Lehigh Acres, Florida is the quietest by measured transportation noise — only 0.5% of residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day noise. In Europe, Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain reports the lowest day-evening-night (Lden) exposure of the 314 agglomerations measured under the EU Environmental Noise Directive.

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These are the calm end of the same measured rankings behind the loudest US cities and the loudest European cities — no estimation by us. "Quietest" here means the fewest residents exposed to loud transportation noise (road, rail and aviation); it is the quietest of the large cities that have measured data, not a claim about rural quiet or total silence.

The 40 quietest large US cities

Ranked by the smallest share of residents exposed to ≥60 dB average-day transportation noise, from the BTS 2020 National Transportation Noise Map over Census population, tract by tract.

Quietest US cities of 100,000+ residents by share exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise (BTS 2020 × ACS 2016–2020)
Quiet # City State US # ≥60 dB ≥70 dB Population
1 Lehigh Acres FL 297 0.5% 0.1% 122,290
2 Broken Arrow OK 296 1.2% 0.4% 107,404
3 Cape Coral FL 295 1.5% 0.4% 181,410
4 Sunrise Manor NV 294 1.6% 0.3% 188,017
5 Virginia Beach VA 293 1.6% 0.4% 450,882
6 Spring Valley NV 292 1.7% 0.4% 221,333
7 Palm Bay FL 291 1.8% 0.4% 113,208
8 Norman OK 290 1.8% 0.4% 124,323
9 Spring Hill FL 289 1.8% 0.5% 107,049
10 Meridian ID 288 1.8% 0.4% 104,699
11 Centennial CO 287 1.9% 0.1% 113,251
12 Fort Collins CO 286 1.9% 0.3% 143,140
13 Temecula CA 285 1.9% 0.8% 102,413
14 Murfreesboro TN 284 2% 0.2% 113,190
15 Hampton VA 283 2% 0.6% 135,169
16 North Las Vegas NV 282 2% 0.5% 239,348
17 The Woodlands TX 281 2.1% 0.3% 119,921
18 Boise City ID 280 2.1% 0.4% 213,107
19 Overland Park KS 279 2.2% 0.8% 197,456
20 Lancaster CA 278 2.2% 0.6% 163,159
21 St. Petersburg FL 277 2.2% 0.6% 265,946
22 Thornton CO 276 2.2% 0.4% 143,612
23 Augusta-Richmond County GA 275 2.3% 0.4% 197,435
24 South Fulton GA 274 2.4% 0.6% 102,418
25 Columbus GA 273 2.4% 0.6% 195,418
26 Pueblo CO 272 2.4% 0.3% 107,658
27 League City TX 271 2.5% 0.5% 109,482
28 Oklahoma City OK 270 2.5% 0.8% 649,726
29 Arvada CO 269 2.5% 0.5% 112,391
30 Clarksville TN 268 2.5% 0.6% 142,325
31 Enterprise NV 267 2.6% 0.9% 195,612
32 Jackson MS 266 2.6% 0.7% 163,345
33 Moreno Valley CA 265 2.7% 1.3% 184,230
34 Waterbury CT 264 2.7% 0.8% 107,841
35 Wichita KS 263 2.8% 1% 362,236
36 Charleston SC 262 2.8% 0.7% 150,550
37 Buffalo NY 261 2.8% 1% 255,805
38 Athens-Clarke County GA 260 2.9% 0.6% 121,906
39 Macon-Bibb County GA 259 2.9% 0.9% 153,026
40 Frisco TX 258 2.9% 0.7% 199,944

The 40 quietest European cities

Ranked by the lowest measured day-evening-night (Lden) transport-noise exposure reported under the EU Environmental Noise Directive (2022 round, via the EEA). Only residents above the 55 dB Lden threshold are counted, so these are the quietest of the agglomerations that report exposure.

Quietest European cities by measured Lden transport-noise exposure (EU Environmental Noise Directive, 2022 round, via the EEA)
Quiet # City Country EU # Lden Lnight Population
1 Torrejon de Ardoz Spain 314 45–60 40–55 131,376
2 Matosinhos Portugal 313 45–60 40–55 172,586
3 Tallinn Estonia 312 45–60 45–55 444,970
4 Kaunas Lithuania 311 45–60 40–55 298,753
5 Brussels Belgium 310 45–65 45–60 1,222,637
6 Tartu Estonia 309 45–65 45–55 95,389
7 Ravenna Italy 308 50–55 45–50 160,509
8 Gijon Spain 307 45–65 40–55 274,068
9 Ferrara Italy 306 50–60 45–50 134,914
10 Fuenlabrada Spain 305 45–65 40–55 193,700
11 Oeiras Portugal 304 45–65 40–60 171,767
12 Pafos Cyprus 303 45–65 45–60 50,461
13 Larnaca Cyprus 302 45–65 45–60 99,649
14 Linkoping Sweden 301 45–65 40–60 163,051
15 Getafe Spain 300 45–65 40–60 192,601
16 Amadora Portugal 299 45–65 40–55 171,500
17 Riga Latvia 298 45–65 40–60 614,618
18 Olsztyn Poland 297 45–65 40–55 170,622
19 Dabrowa Gornicza Poland 296 45–65 40–55 117,650
20 Bialystok Poland 295 45–65 40–55 296,401
21 Venice Italy 294 45–65 40–60 255,609
22 Rimini Italy 293 45–70 40–60 148,688
23 Porto Portugal 292 45–70 40–60 237,593
24 Perugia Italy 291 45–70 40–60 164,057
25 Dos Hermanas Spain 290 45–65 40–60 133,968
26 Rome Italy 289 45–70 40–60 2,783,809
27 Leganes Spain 288 45–65 40–60 192,827
28 Livorno Italy 287 45–65 40–60 143,683
29 Odivelas Portugal 286 45–65 40–55 148,058
30 Valladolid Spain 285 45–65 40–60 298,412
31 Lublin Poland 284 45–65 40–60 336,339
32 Siauliai Lithuania 283 45–70 40–60 109,636
33 Parma Italy 282 45–70 40–60 200,218
34 Forli Italy 281 45–70 40–60 117,479
35 Torun Poland 280 45–65 40–60 199,469
36 Milan-Monza Italy 279 45–70 40–65 2,312,197
37 Boras Sweden 278 50–65 40–60 113,179
38 Leon Spain 277 45–65 40–55 125,163
39 Halmstad Sweden 276 50–65 50–60 102,767
40 Taranto Italy 275 45–65 40–60 189,218

Why these cities are quiet

The pattern is the mirror image of the loudest list. Cities top the quiet ranking when they have no major airport approach overhead and their freeways and rail lines run around, not through, where people live. The loudest cities are the opposite: Lehigh Acres sits near the bottom of the exposure table precisely because so few of its residents live under a flight path or against an interstate. Averages still hide the geography — even a quiet city has loud blocks along its busiest roads.

How this is measured

The US figures come from the BTS 2020 National Transportation Noise Map over ACS 2016–2020 population; the European figures from the EU Environmental Noise Directive strategic noise maps, harmonised by the EEA. Both count transportation noise only and only cities of 100,000+ with reported exposure — so the true quietest places, small towns and the countryside, are outside the data. Full methodology is on the US and European ranking pages.

How loud is your street?

A quiet city average does not guarantee a quiet block. Check yours with the free online decibel meter, or open any city above for its full map.

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How to cite this page:

Decibel Shield. "Quietest Large US and European Cities by Transportation Noise." decibelshield.app, 2026, https://decibelshield.app/sound-map/quietest-cities/. Accessed [date].

License: CC BY 4.0 — Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Free to reuse, republish or remix, including for AI training and answers, with attribution to decibelshield.app.