Noise Levels in Summit, IL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Summit
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,069
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
72% of Summit residents
92 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Summit 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 4,069 Summit residents, or 72.2%, live above that level. By land area, 74.2% of Summit is above 55 dBA.
25.8% below 55 dBA
74.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Summit compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Summit
Average noise levels for Summit residents, grouped by direction from the center of Summit. Western Summit carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Summit carries the lowest. Just 50% of residents in Southern Summit live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Western Summit.
Central Summit
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Summit
60.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Summit
55.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Summit
61.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Summit sounds about 54% louder than Southern Summit to the human ear, a 6.2 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 Stevenson Expwy do you need to be?
Stevenson Expwy produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 7% of Summit sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 67% 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 Summit. 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 east of Summit. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Summit, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Summit
The bar chart below shows the share of Summit residents in each noise band. About 21% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 24% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Summit Compares
Summit sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Summit's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Broadview, Stickney, Countryside, and North Riverside.
Average noise level (dBA)
Summit's 57.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Illinois as a whole averages 52.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Summit because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 72.2% of Summit residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 74.2% of Summit'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 Summit
- 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 Stevenson Expwy 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 7% of Summit 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Chicago Midway International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
