Noise Levels in South Chicago Heights, IL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across South Chicago Heights
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,210
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
42% of South Chicago Heights residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across South Chicago Heights 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 1,210 South Chicago Heights residents, or 41.5%, live above that level. By land area, 47.7% of South Chicago Heights is above 55 dBA.
52.3% below 55 dBA
47.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in South Chicago Heights compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of South Chicago Heights
Average noise levels for South Chicago Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of South Chicago Heights. Southern South Chicago Heights carries the highest population-weighted average; Western South Chicago Heights carries the lowest. Just 28% of residents in Western South Chicago Heights live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Southern South Chicago Heights.
Central South Chicago Heights
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern South Chicago Heights
52.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern South Chicago Heights
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern South Chicago Heights
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western South Chicago Heights
51.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern South Chicago Heights sounds about 25% louder than Western South Chicago Heights to the human ear, a 3.2 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 Sauk Tr do you need to be?
Sauk Tr produces an estimated 58 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
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
39 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 20% of South Chicago Heights sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 43% 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 South Chicago Heights. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across South Chicago Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of South Chicago Heights residents in each noise band. About 64% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How South Chicago Heights Compares
South Chicago Heights sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how South Chicago Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Olympia Fields, Thornton, Burnham, and Dixmoor.
Average noise level (dBA)
South Chicago Heights's 53.5 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 South Chicago Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 41.5% of South Chicago Heights 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, 47.7% of South Chicago Heights'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 South Chicago Heights
- 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 Sauk Tr 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 20% of South Chicago Heights is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is medium-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.
