Chicago, IL Noise Levels
Is Chicago, IL noisy?
Chicago, IL's 60-69.9 dB(A) band spans one of HUD's zone boundaries, so the honest answer is a range: somewhere between "Acceptable" (65 dB(A) or below) and "Normally Unacceptable" (65-75 dB(A)), not one clean verdict. Road traffic drives that number here, not the other two sources. This describes Chicago as a whole, not a specific block, the underlying BTS map resolves to about 38 meters per pixel, sampled at the town's own center point.
Chicago's noise, by source
Each of the three transportation modes gets its own model from BTS; the combined figure above is what they add up to.
What this means for a house here
Depending on where in that band the true value sits, it may also clear FHWA's 66 dB(A) residential impact threshold (23 CFR 772, Table 1), the trigger highway agencies use for sound-wall decisions. Upgraded windows, door seals and STC-rated glazing meaningfully cut broadband, near-continuous road noise.
Where Chicago ranks
Among the 3,622 US places in this dataset with any measurable transportation noise, Chicago ranks 75, loudest first. Population is about 2,721,308, 4th largest of the 12,137 places covered here.
Your street may differ from Chicago's reading
This page describes Chicago as a whole. If one specific address is what matters, BTS publishes the same underlying map for free.
Behind Chicago's reading
The methodology guide shows exactly how Chicago's reading was built from BTS's tile data. Since road traffic is what's driving this reading, the guide to what actually cuts each kind of noise covers the fix that fits.