US citiesLos AngelesMid-City

Mid-City noise map: how loud is it?

Mid-City sits in the middle of Los Angeles's noise range: 13.3% of residents face 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise — road, rail and aviation combined — ranking it 26th of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods. Zoom the map below to see which blocks run loud and which stay calm.

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Transportation-noise map of Mid-City, Los Angeles: the neighborhood outlined in white over modeled road, rail and aircraft noise, colored from amber (about 45 dBA) through red and purple to blue (90 dBA and up).
Mid-City outlined over the modeled 24-hour transportation-noise level (LAeq, dBA) from the US DOT BTS 2020 National Transportation Noise Map. Boundary © LA Times; streets and water © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO.
Interactive map Open Mid-City on the live noise map → Zoom to any block over the federal BTS raster, or use your location.
Mid-City noise exposure at a glance
Rank in Los Angeles (of 110 neighborhoods) #26
Residents above 60 dB 13.3%
Residents above 70 dB 5.9%
Residents in the 45–60 dB band 28.5%
Residents (ACS 2016–2020, area-weighted) 49,804
Census tracts mapped 28

Mid-City is home to about 49,804 residents across 28 census tracts. 13.3% of them are exposed to 60 dB or more of average-day road, rail and aviation noise. Within that, 5.9% face the most severe band — 70 dB or louder, the level at which sustained exposure starts to threaten hearing. A further 28.5% sit in the 45–60 dB band — a noticeable background hum rather than a hearing risk. That ranks Mid-City #26 of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods, louder than most Los Angeles neighborhoods. Among Los Angeles neighborhoods it sits just below Sun Valley (#25) and just above Glassell Park (#27).

Exposure across Mid-City is a patchwork. The streets that back onto a freeway, rail line or flight path carry most of the 13.3%, while interior blocks a few hundred feet away can sit 15 to 25 dB quieter. The map makes that split easy to see.

Mid-City noise: the specifics

  • Ranks #26 of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods by share of residents exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise.
  • 13.3% of Mid-City's ~49,804 residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise.
  • 5.9% are in the severe 70 dB+ band; 28.5% sit in the 45–60 dB moderate range.
  • Area-weighted across 28 census tracts from the federal BTS 2020 noise map × ACS 2016–2020 population.
  • #26 of 110 — see the full Los Angeles ranking.

What share of Mid-City residents are exposed to 60 dB or louder transportation noise?

13.3% of Mid-City residents live with average-day transportation noise (road, rail and aviation) at or above 60 dB, and 5.9% are above 70 dB — ranking Mid-City #26 of 110 Los Angeles neighborhoods by noise exposure.

How Mid-City 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 Mid-City. 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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