Noise Levels in Gold Coast, Chicago, IL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Gold Coast
Quiet office to normal conversation
11,032
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
60% of Gold Coast residents
74 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Gold Coast 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 11,032 Gold Coast residents, or 59.9%, live above that level. By land area, 56.2% of Gold Coast is above 55 dBA.
43.8% below 55 dBA
56.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Gold Coast compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Gold Coast
Average noise levels for Gold Coast residents, grouped by direction from the center of Gold Coast. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Gold Coast; the lowest is in southwestern Gold Coast, where just 50% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northern Gold Coast
59.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Gold Coast
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Gold Coast
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Gold Coast
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Gold Coast
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern Gold Coast sounds about 36% louder than in southwestern Gold Coast, a 4.4 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 74 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
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 2% of Gold Coast sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 82% 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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Airport Noise
Chicago Midway International (MDW) sits southwest of Gold Coast. 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 Gold Coast, 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 Gold Coast
The bar chart below shows the share of Gold Coast residents in each noise band. About 34% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 10% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Gold Coast Compares
Gold Coast sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Gold Coast's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Loop, Greektown, Avondale, and North Lawndale.
Average noise level (dBA)
Gold Coast's 55.7 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 Gold Coast because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 59.9% of Gold Coast 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, 56.2% of Gold Coast'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 Gold Coast
- 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 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 2% of Gold Coast is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), 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.
