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Upper East Side-Yorkville noise map: how loud is it?
Upper East Side-Yorkville is one of New York's louder neighborhoods: 10.9% of residents live with average-day transportation noise of 60 dB or more — road, rail and aviation combined — which ranks it the 39th-loudest of 197 New York neighborhoods. The map below shows how that noise concentrates along its busiest corridors.
Last updated:
| Rank in New York (of 197 neighborhoods) | #39 |
|---|---|
| Residents above 60 dB | 10.9% |
| Residents above 70 dB | 0.1% |
| Residents in the 45–60 dB band | 74.3% |
| Residents (ACS 2016–2020, area-weighted) | 72,090 |
| Census tracts mapped | 24 |
Upper East Side-Yorkville is home to about 72,090 residents across 24 census tracts. 10.9% of them are exposed to 60 dB or more of average-day road, rail and aviation noise. Within that, 0.1% face the most severe band — 70 dB or louder, the level at which sustained exposure starts to threaten hearing. A further 74.3% sit in the 45–60 dB band — a noticeable background hum rather than a hearing risk. That ranks Upper East Side-Yorkville #39 of 197 New York neighborhoods, louder than most New York neighborhoods. Among New York neighborhoods it sits just below Washington Heights (South) (#38) and just above South Jamaica (#40).
The exposure is not spread evenly. The 0.1% 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 Upper East Side-Yorkville.
Upper East Side-Yorkville noise: the specifics
- Ranks #39 of 197 New York neighborhoods by share of residents exposed to ≥60 dB transportation noise.
- 10.9% of Upper East Side-Yorkville's ~72,090 residents live with 60 dB or louder average-day transportation noise.
- 0.1% are in the severe 70 dB+ band; 74.3% sit in the 45–60 dB moderate range.
- Area-weighted across 24 census tracts from the federal BTS 2020 noise map × ACS 2016–2020 population.
- #39 of 197 — see the full New York ranking.
What share of Upper East Side-Yorkville residents are exposed to 60 dB or louder transportation noise?
10.9% of Upper East Side-Yorkville residents live with average-day transportation noise (road, rail and aviation) at or above 60 dB, and 0.1% are above 70 dB — ranking Upper East Side-Yorkville #39 of 197 New York neighborhoods by noise exposure.
How Upper East Side-Yorkville 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-Yorkville. 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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