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Chinatown noise map: how loud is it?
Chinatown is one of Los Angeles's louder neighborhoods: 36.9% of residents live with average-day transportation noise of 60 dB or more — road, rail and aviation combined — which ranks it the 1st-loudest of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods. The map below shows how that noise concentrates along its busiest corridors.
Last updated:
| Rank in Los Angeles (of 110 neighborhoods) | #1 |
|---|---|
| Residents above 60 dB | 36.9% |
| Residents above 70 dB | 15.7% |
| Residents in the 45–60 dB band | 56.6% |
| Residents (ACS 2016–2020, area-weighted) | 15,793 |
| Census tracts mapped | 8 |
Chinatown is home to about 15,793 residents across 8 census tracts. 36.9% of them are exposed to 60 dB or more of average-day road, rail and aviation noise. Within that, 15.7% face the most severe band — 70 dB or louder, the level at which sustained exposure starts to threaten hearing. A further 56.6% sit in the 45–60 dB band — a noticeable background hum rather than a hearing risk. That ranks Chinatown #1 of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods, well above the typical Los Angeles neighborhood. It is the loudest Los Angeles neighborhood by this measure, ahead of Rancho Park (#2).
The exposure is not spread evenly. The 15.7% in the 70 dB-plus band are the households packed right against a freeway, rail corridor or flight path, while blocks a few streets inland fall away fast. On the map that reads as a bright ribbon of noise tracing the corridor through Chinatown.
Chinatown noise: the specifics
- Ranks #1 of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods by share of residents exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise.
- 36.9% of Chinatown's ~15,793 residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise.
- 15.7% are in the severe 70 dB+ band; 56.6% sit in the 45–60 dB moderate range.
- Area-weighted across 8 census tracts from the federal BTS 2020 noise map × ACS 2016–2020 population.
- #1 of 110 — see the full Los Angeles ranking.
What share of Chinatown residents are exposed to 60 dB or louder transportation noise?
36.9% of Chinatown residents live with average-day transportation noise (road, rail and aviation) at or above 60 dB, and 15.7% are above 70 dB — ranking Chinatown #1 of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods by noise exposure.
How Chinatown compares
How this is measured
This is a transparent aggregation of federal data, not an estimate: the US DOT 2020 National Transportation Noise Map (road + rail + aviation), paired with Census population by the University of Washington and area-weighted to the Los Angeles Times boundary for Chinatown. It does not count sirens, construction, nightlife or neighbors, and it resolves busy corridors better than quiet local streets. For your exact spot, measure it with the free online decibel meter →
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