Noise Levels in 60610, IL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across 60610
Quiet office to normal conversation
20,169
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
56% of 60610 residents
75 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 60610 at 100-meter resolution, combining road, aviation, and rail sources. Green areas measure below 45 dBA. Orange and red exceed the EPA's 55 dBA outdoor threshold linked to long-term health effects. Use the layer toggles to view each source on its own or all together.
What the numbers sound like
- 30 dBAWhisper
- 40 dBASoft rainfall
- 45 dBAQuiet suburban street at night
- 50 dBAQuiet office
- 55 dBAEPA outdoor threshold: light traffic 100 ft away
- 60 dBANormal conversation an arm's length away
- 65 dBABusy restaurant
- 70 dBAHighway traffic 50 ft away
- 80 dBACity bus interior
Population Above the EPA Outdoor Threshold
The EPA's 55 dBA outdoor reference level is a common benchmark for residential noise exposure, especially for activity interference, annoyance, and long-term community noise concerns. About 20,169 60610 residents, or 56.3%, live above that level. By land area, 53.0% of 60610 is above 55 dBA.
47.0% below 55 dBA
53.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 60610 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 60610
Average noise levels for 60610 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 60610. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern 60610; the lowest is in eastern 60610, where just 17% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern 60610
61.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern 60610
59.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern 60610
56.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern 60610
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 60610
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southeastern 60610 sounds about 83% louder than in eastern 60610, a 8.7 dBA gap. Every 10 dBA roughly doubles perceived loudness. Within any of these directions, two homes a quarter mile apart can still differ by 10 or more dBA depending on how close they sit to a major highway.
How far back from Wells St do you need to be?
Wells St produces an estimated 56 dBA at its loudest centerline points. Noise drops logarithmically with distance, with the exact rate depending on what's between you and the road. Tree cover, walls, terrain, and pavement type all matter. At roughly a quarter mile back, traffic fades into the noise level of a soft rainfall.
At source
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 1% of 60610 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 83% is impervious surface like pavement and rooftops. Both are folded into the per-place decay rate above. Heavier canopy pulls noise down faster with distance; impervious surfaces slow the drop.
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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of 60610. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
Airport Noise
Chicago Midway International (MDW) sits southwest of 60610. The U.S. Department of Transportation models aviation noise around this airport from federal traffic data, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 60610, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 60610
The bar chart below shows the share of 60610 residents in each noise band. About 40% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 60610 Compares
60610 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 60610's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 60613, 60611, 60616, and 60641.
Average noise level (dBA)
60610's 55.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Illinois as a whole averages 52.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 60610 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 56.3% of 60610 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's in the middle of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 53.0% of 60610's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Illinois average of 29.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 60610
- Distance from highways matters more than the neighborhood name. Two homes in the same zip code can differ by 20 dBA if one sits 100 meters from Wells St and the other 500 meters away. The model captures this at 100-meter resolution, so noise exposure changes block by block.
- Tree canopy can help reduce modeled noise exposure. Roughly 1% of 60610 is under tree cover (much lighter than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is high-intensity developed land. Both are measured from federal USDA Forest Service and USGS satellite imagery at 30-meter resolution. Streets with 60% or higher canopy show 3 to 5 dBA lower noise than comparable streets with bare ground or pavement, which is why the per-place decay rate above already accounts for it.
- Airport noise is directional. Chicago Midway International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
