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Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill noise map: how loud is it?

Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill is one of New York's quieter neighborhoods: just 3.1% of residents face 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise (road, rail and aviation), ranking it 152nd of 197 New York neighborhoods. Most streets sit well back from any freeway, rail line or flight path; the map shows where the noise does reach.

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Transportation-noise map of Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, New York: 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).
Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill 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 Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill on the live noise map → Zoom to any block over the federal BTS raster, or use your location.
Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill noise exposure at a glance
Rank in New York (of 197 neighborhoods) #152
Residents above 60 dB 3.1%
Residents above 70 dB 0%
Residents in the 45–60 dB band 83.5%
Residents (ACS 2016–2020, area-weighted) 53,618
Census tracts mapped 17

Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill is home to about 53,618 residents across 17 census tracts. 3.1% of them are exposed to 60 dB or more of average-day road, rail and aviation noise. Almost none of Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill reaches the most severe 70 dB+ band. A further 83.5% sit in the 45–60 dB band — a noticeable background hum rather than a hearing risk. That ranks Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill #152 of 197 New York neighborhoods, quieter than most New York neighborhoods. Among New York neighborhoods it sits just below East Flatbush-Rugby (#151) and just above East Flatbush-Remsen Village (#153).

Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill mostly sits away from the loud corridors. Where the noise does climb it traces a single freeway, rail line or flight path near the edge of the neighborhood rather than the residential core, so the great majority of blocks stay calm. The map pinpoints exactly where the exposure is.

Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill noise: the specifics

  • Ranks #152 of 197 New York neighborhoods by share of residents exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise.
  • 3.1% of Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill's ~53,618 residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise.
  • 0% are in the severe 70 dB+ band; 83.5% sit in the 45–60 dB moderate range.
  • Area-weighted across 17 census tracts from the federal BTS 2020 noise map × ACS 2016–2020 population.
  • #152 of 197 — see the full New York ranking.

What share of Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill residents are exposed to 60 dB or louder transportation noise?

3.1% of Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill residents live with average-day transportation noise (road, rail and aviation) at or above 60 dB, and 0% are above 70 dB — ranking Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill #152 of 197 New York neighborhoods by noise exposure.

How Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill 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 New York Times boundary for Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill. 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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