Decibel Shield
The loudest cities in the US, ranked by noise exposure
Boston is the loudest large US city by transportation noise exposure: 12.9% of residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day road, rail and aviation noise, per the federal BTS noise map. Fresno, Chicago, Anaheim and Oakland follow — and New York, famously loud, ranks only 20th.
Last updated:
The ranking: 100 largest US cities
Share of each city's residents exposed to ≥60 dB and ≥70 dB average-day transportation noise (road + rail + aviation), population-weighted from census-tract data. 60 dB is constant-conversation loudness — well above the WHO's 53 dB Lden road-noise guideline; 70 dB is the level US agencies treat as a serious annoyance threshold.
| # | City | State | ≥60 dB | ≥70 dB | 45–60 dB | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | MA | 12.9% | 2.6% | 73.4% | 682,902 |
| 2 | Fresno | CA | 12.1% | 2.2% | 66.6% | 488,327 |
| 3 | Chicago | IL | 11% | 1.7% | 83.4% | 2,698,334 |
| 4 | Anaheim | CA | 10.7% | 4.2% | 31.5% | 333,887 |
| 5 | Oakland | CA | 10% | 3.6% | 53.1% | 422,575 |
| 6 | Honolulu | HI | 9.9% | 2.1% | 30.2% | 348,116 |
| 7 | Los Angeles | CA | 9.8% | 3.7% | 42.6% | 3,959,866 |
| 8 | San Francisco | CA | 9.5% | 2.7% | 34.9% | 874,784 |
| 9 | Stockton | CA | 9.2% | 2.3% | 49.8% | 289,925 |
| 10 | Santa Ana | CA | 9% | 3.9% | 35.8% | 325,359 |
| 11 | Newark | NJ | 8.9% | 1.5% | 81.9% | 281,917 |
| 12 | Laredo | TX | 8.9% | 0.9% | 70.1% | 241,239 |
| 13 | Sacramento | CA | 8.9% | 2.7% | 62.9% | 492,077 |
| 14 | San Jose | CA | 8.8% | 3.3% | 41% | 984,403 |
| 15 | Long Beach | CA | 8.5% | 3.7% | 67.2% | 463,504 |
| 16 | San Diego | CA | 8.3% | 3.1% | 43.6% | 1,414,853 |
| 17 | Atlanta | GA | 7.9% | 2.2% | 48.3% | 490,846 |
| 18 | Irvine | CA | 7.9% | 3.4% | 29.7% | 269,716 |
| 19 | Miami | FL | 7.5% | 1.5% | 79.9% | 461,675 |
| 20 | New York | NY | 7.4% | 1.7% | 65.4% | 8,347,434 |
| 21 | Portland | OR | 7.2% | 1.4% | 40.1% | 650,191 |
| 22 | Fremont | CA | 7.1% | 2.6% | 38.9% | 234,829 |
| 23 | Dallas | TX | 7% | 1.6% | 38.3% | 1,382,096 |
| 24 | Hialeah | FL | 6.9% | 1.9% | 41.9% | 230,853 |
| 25 | Madison | WI | 6.8% | 1.6% | 40.3% | 254,212 |
| 26 | Cleveland | OH | 6.7% | 1.7% | 63.9% | 383,665 |
| 27 | Louisville | KY | 6.6% | 1.3% | 39% | 628,044 |
| 28 | Minneapolis | MN | 6.6% | 2% | 70.5% | 424,536 |
| 29 | Irving | TX | 6.5% | 1.5% | 62.7% | 240,475 |
| 30 | Phoenix | AZ | 6.5% | 1.1% | 28.7% | 1,648,739 |
| 31 | Mesa | AZ | 6.4% | 1.1% | 42.2% | 497,973 |
| 32 | Lexington-Fayette | KY | 6.2% | 1.2% | 27.5% | 322,200 |
| 33 | Philadelphia | PA | 6.1% | 1.1% | 66.2% | 1,581,531 |
| 34 | Chandler | AZ | 6.1% | 1% | 37.8% | 253,979 |
| 35 | Arlington | VA | 6.1% | 1.5% | 46.2% | 236,434 |
| 36 | Pittsburgh | PA | 5.8% | 1.8% | 61.5% | 301,286 |
| 37 | Seattle | WA | 5.8% | 1.2% | 51.6% | 741,171 |
| 38 | Washington | DC | 5.8% | 0.8% | 48.6% | 701,974 |
| 39 | Fort Worth | TX | 5.7% | 1.3% | 49.6% | 842,371 |
| 40 | Riverside | CA | 5.7% | 1.7% | 34.2% | 317,360 |
| 41 | Houston | TX | 5.7% | 1.7% | 40.2% | 2,326,953 |
| 42 | Reno | NV | 5.6% | 1.5% | 38.8% | 236,730 |
| 43 | Lubbock | TX | 5.5% | 0.9% | 17.3% | 260,189 |
| 44 | Tucson | AZ | 5.5% | 0.4% | 30.8% | 525,777 |
| 45 | Glendale | AZ | 5.5% | 0.6% | 18.5% | 252,246 |
| 46 | Scottsdale | AZ | 5.3% | 0.7% | 27.8% | 241,030 |
| 47 | Memphis | TN | 5.3% | 0.8% | 43% | 646,100 |
| 48 | Jersey City | NJ | 5.3% | 1.2% | 70.9% | 250,269 |
| 49 | El Paso | TX | 5.2% | 1.1% | 34.3% | 652,492 |
| 50 | Milwaukee | WI | 5.2% | 1.3% | 36% | 592,951 |
| 51 | Orlando | FL | 5.2% | 1.5% | 52.5% | 284,419 |
| 52 | Nashville | TN | 5.1% | 1.2% | 40.4% | 661,890 |
| 53 | Indianapolis | IN | 5.1% | 1.2% | 30.3% | 861,435 |
| 54 | Detroit | MI | 5% | 1.1% | 24.1% | 672,892 |
| 55 | Jacksonville | FL | 4.9% | 1.1% | 65.3% | 903,707 |
| 56 | Gilbert | AZ | 4.8% | 0.4% | 25% | 238,079 |
| 57 | Austin | TX | 4.8% | 1.5% | 22.7% | 968,088 |
| 58 | Bakersfield | CA | 4.7% | 1.4% | 23% | 363,313 |
| 59 | Richmond | VA | 4.6% | 1.4% | 45.4% | 229,233 |
| 60 | Albuquerque | NM | 4.6% | 0.8% | 23.8% | 529,220 |
| 61 | St. Louis | MO | 4.6% | 1.2% | 48.7% | 304,709 |
| 62 | Columbus | OH | 4.6% | 1.4% | 37.1% | 814,474 |
| 63 | Arlington | TX | 4.6% | 1.1% | 46.8% | 402,959 |
| 64 | Corpus Christi | TX | 4.6% | 0.9% | 16.7% | 312,636 |
| 65 | San Antonio | TX | 4.6% | 1.3% | 32.9% | 1,508,500 |
| 66 | Norfolk | VA | 4.5% | 0.9% | 45% | 244,300 |
| 67 | Tacoma | WA | 4.5% | 1.2% | 34.8% | 218,386 |
| 68 | Toledo | OH | 4.5% | 1% | 38% | 268,044 |
| 69 | St. Paul | MN | 4.4% | 1.4% | 47.4% | 305,877 |
| 70 | Tampa | FL | 4.3% | 1.1% | 18.3% | 392,381 |
| 71 | Durham | NC | 4.2% | 0.7% | 13.2% | 242,539 |
| 72 | Kansas City | MO | 4.2% | 1.4% | 33.6% | 478,113 |
| 73 | Raleigh | NC | 4.2% | 0.7% | 14.8% | 440,404 |
| 74 | Denver | CO | 4.1% | 0.9% | 31.6% | 715,878 |
| 75 | New Orleans | LA | 4.1% | 0.9% | 30.8% | 391,249 |
| 76 | Charlotte | NC | 4% | 0.9% | 25% | 866,545 |
| 77 | Winston-Salem | NC | 3.9% | 0.8% | 14.1% | 228,399 |
| 78 | Baltimore | MD | 3.8% | 0.7% | 38.8% | 602,274 |
| 79 | Tulsa | OK | 3.7% | 1.3% | 36.5% | 406,402 |
| 80 | Greensboro | NC | 3.7% | 0.9% | 20.4% | 256,593 |
| 81 | Las Vegas | NV | 3.7% | 1.3% | 27.7% | 623,021 |
| 82 | Lincoln | NE | 3.6% | 0.8% | 41.1% | 263,617 |
| 83 | Garland | TX | 3.5% | 0.6% | 16.3% | 239,714 |
| 84 | Aurora | CO | 3.4% | 0.6% | 14.2% | 363,332 |
| 85 | Chula Vista | CA | 3.4% | 1.1% | 29% | 261,780 |
| 86 | Cincinnati | OH | 3.3% | 0.9% | 39.9% | 305,814 |
| 87 | Anchorage | AK | 3.2% | 0.7% | 25.9% | 292,090 |
| 88 | Omaha | NE | 3.2% | 0.8% | 18.1% | 464,229 |
| 89 | Plano | TX | 3.2% | 0.8% | 15.2% | 289,232 |
| 90 | Chesapeake | VA | 3.1% | 0.9% | 22.4% | 242,647 |
| 91 | Fort Wayne | IN | 3.1% | 0.6% | 31.5% | 233,695 |
| 92 | Colorado Springs | CO | 3.1% | 0.6% | 27.6% | 455,551 |
| 93 | Henderson | NV | 3% | 0.9% | 16.1% | 303,967 |
| 94 | Buffalo | NY | 2.8% | 1% | 28.5% | 255,805 |
| 95 | Wichita | KS | 2.8% | 1% | 37.8% | 362,236 |
| 96 | Oklahoma City | OK | 2.5% | 0.8% | 29.8% | 649,726 |
| 97 | St. Petersburg | FL | 2.2% | 0.6% | 12.3% | 265,946 |
| 98 | North Las Vegas | NV | 2% | 0.5% | 26.2% | 239,348 |
| 99 | Spring Valley | NV | 1.7% | 0.4% | 25.2% | 221,333 |
| 100 | Virginia Beach | VA | 1.6% | 0.4% | 10% | 450,882 |
Why isn't New York number one?
Because this dataset measures transportation noise — the federally modeled noise from roads, rail and aircraft — not sirens, construction, nightlife or crowds. New York's reputation is built on those unmodeled sources; by transportation exposure alone it ranks 20th, with 7.4% of residents at ≥60 dB but fully 65% living in the 45–60 dB band — a city where moderate noise is nearly universal even when extreme noise is not. Boston tops the list because Logan Airport's flight paths, I-90/I-93 corridors, and dense rail all run directly through or over residential neighborhoods. The California cluster — Fresno, Anaheim, Oakland, Santa Ana — reflects freeway networks routed straight through housing; Anaheim has the country's highest share of residents above 70 dB (4.2%).
Where the noise lives, tract by tract
City averages hide the geography. These maps color every census tract in the ten loudest cities by the share of its residents exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise — real values per tract from the same federal dataset, not interpolation. The pattern is consistent everywhere: the red follows airports, freeways and rail, usually through the neighborhoods built closest to them.
#1 Boston, MA noise map → 
#2 Fresno, CA noise map → 
#3 Chicago, IL noise map → 
#4 Anaheim, CA noise map → 
#5 Oakland, CA noise map → 
#6 Honolulu, HI noise map → 
#7 Los Angeles, CA noise map → 
#8 San Francisco, CA noise map → 
#9 Stockton, CA noise map → 
#10 Santa Ana, CA noise map → How this ranking is computed
Unlike our world city estimates, this dataset involves no estimation by us — it is a transparent aggregation of federal data. The BTS National Transportation Noise Map (2020) models average-day road, rail and aviation noise nationwide; the University of Washington's National Transportation Noise Exposure Map overlays it with ACS 2016–2020 population at census-tract level. We assign tracts to cities (representative point within the census place boundary, consolidated city-county entities merged) and compute population-weighted exposure shares for the 100 largest cities. Rolled-up city populations matched official figures within ±5% in spot checks of 14 major cities.
Limitations: 2020 model vintage; transportation sources only (no construction, sirens, industry or nightlife); average-day levels, not peaks; tract-to-city assignment is by tract center, so border tracts can shift small amounts of population between neighboring cities.
How loud is your street?
Rankings describe averages — your block is its own story. Check it with the free online decibel meter, and see how US cities compare to the rest of the world on the global city sound map.
Download & cite this data
How to cite this page:
Decibel Shield. "US Cities Ranked by Transportation Noise Exposure." decibelshield.app, 2026, https://decibelshield.app/sound-map/us/. Accessed [date].