Decibel Shield
Chicago noise map: where the city is loudest
Chicago ranks third in the US: 11% of residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise. The map shows three engines at once — O’Hare’s far-northwest approach corridors, Midway embedded in the southwest bungalow belt, and the expressway system radiating from the Loop.
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| US rank (of 100 largest cities) | #3 |
|---|---|
| Residents above 60 dB | 11% |
| Residents above 70 dB | 1.7% |
| Residents in the 45–60 dB band | 83.4% |
| Population (ACS 2016–2020) | 2,698,334 |
| Census tracts mapped | 792 |
Chicago is the rare city with two major airports inside its limits, and both show up in red. O’Hare anchors the far northwest with approach corridors stretching across the bungalow neighborhoods beneath; Midway sits completely surrounded by residential blocks on the southwest side, a square mile of airfield in a sea of houses. The city has run residential soundproofing programs around both for decades — among the largest such programs in the nation — and O’Hare operates a “Fly Quiet” program that rotates nighttime runway use to spread the burden.
Between the airports, the expressways do their work: the Kennedy, Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Stevenson all funnel toward the Loop through dense neighborhoods, and the L’s elevated steel structure adds a distinctive screech that the federal model counts under rail. With 867 census tracts, Chicago’s map is the most detailed of the top ten — and the pattern still reads instantly.
Chicago noise: the specifics
- Two major airports sit inside city limits; Midway is entirely surrounded by residential blocks.
- O’Hare’s “Fly Quiet” program rotates nighttime runways; the city has soundproofed tens of thousands of homes around both airfields.
- The elevated L counts as rail noise in the federal model — steel wheels on steel structure through dense neighborhoods.
- 11% of residents above 60 dB ranks #3 among the 100 largest US cities — see the full measured ranking.
How this map is made
This is a transparent aggregation of federal data, not an estimate: the BTS 2020 National Transportation Noise Map (road + rail + aviation) overlaid with Census ACS 2016–2020 population at tract level, clipped to the city boundary. Full methodology, limitations and the free CSV/JSON are on the US cities noise ranking. Remember what it doesn’t count: sirens, construction, nightlife and neighbors are outside the model.
How loud is your block?
The map shows averages by tract — your street is its own story. Measure it with the free online decibel meter → No install, nothing recorded.