Des Plaines, IL Noise Levels
How loud is Des Plaines, IL?
At 52.5 dB(A), Des Plaines, IL falls inside HUD's "Acceptable" noise zone, 65 dB(A) day-night average or below under 24 CFR 51.104, the federal government's own line for building housing with no extra sound attenuation required. The main source is aircraft, well ahead of the other two modes BTS tracks. Treat this as Des Plaines's one representative point, not a promise about every block in it, BTS's map wasn't built to resolve individual streets.
Where Des Plaines's noise comes from
BTS models these three sources separately before combining them, so a place can be quiet on two and loud on the third.
If you're weighing a move to Des Plaines
Aircraft noise is intermittent and lower-frequency, which is why FAA’s Part 150 program funds whole-envelope sound insulation for homes inside an airport’s own mapped noise contour rather than relying on window replacement alone.
How Des Plaines compares nationally
Des Plaines ranks 842 of 3,622 measured places nationally, 1 being the loudest this dataset covers. By population, it ranks 692 of the 12,137 places in this dataset, home to about 58,832 people.
Checking one address in Des Plaines
Nothing here substitutes for checking one address in Des Plaines directly, and BTS's own map lets anyone do that at no cost.
Des Plaines's number isn't a one-off calculation, it comes from the same method covered in the methodology guide. The guide to what actually cuts each kind of noise explains why aircraft calls for a different fix than the other two sources.