Decibel Shield

Los Angeles noise map: where the city is loudest

Los Angeles ranks seventh in the US, with 9.8% of its nearly four million residents — the largest absolute number of any city — living above 60 dB, and 3.7% above 70 dB. The map is a portrait of the most famous freeway network in the world, plus LAX’s approach over the southwest.

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Census-tract noise map of Los Angeles, CA: tracts colored green (few residents above 60 dB transportation noise) to red (half or more residents above 60 dB). The loudest tracts follow the freeway grid and LAX.
Every census tract colored by the share of its residents exposed to ≥60 dB average-day transportation noise — real values per tract from the federal BTS 2020 noise map, no interpolation.
Los Angeles noise exposure at a glance
US rank (of 100 largest cities) #7
Residents above 60 dB 9.8%
Residents above 70 dB 3.7%
Residents in the 45–60 dB band 42.6%
Population (ACS 2016–2020) 3,959,866
Census tracts mapped 1109

No city contributes more people to America’s noise-exposed population than Los Angeles: 9.8% of 3.96 million residents is roughly 388,000 people above 60 dB, more than the entire population of most cities on this list. The freeway grid does the bulk of it — the 405, 101, 10, 110 and 5 form a lattice across 1,296 census tracts, and the corridors glow orange end to end.

LAX adds the aviation layer across Westchester and the southwest, where decades of residential soundproofing programs have followed the flight paths. The scale cuts both ways, though: LA’s sprawl means vast tracts sit far from any freeway, which is why a city synonymous with traffic ranks seventh rather than first — exposure here is about who lives beside the corridor, not the corridor’s fame.

Los Angeles noise: the specifics

  • Largest absolute exposed population in the US: roughly 388,000 residents above 60 dB.
  • The map spans 1,296 census tracts — the most detailed in the top ten.
  • LAX’s approach corridors over Westchester carry decades-old residential soundproofing programs.
  • 9.8% of residents above 60 dB ranks #7 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.

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