If you want a good night’s sleep, you’ll probably want to stay away from Florida’s most famous coastal town.
Miami is considered the noisiest city in the country, according to an analysis of 24-hour average noise levels in 50 major US cities.
Visitors can expect sounds reaching 52 decibels (dB) – equivalent to the hum of an industrial refrigerator – when trying to fall asleep.
Unsurprisingly, the city that never sleeps was also in the top ten, although Boston was considered more disruptive.
Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky, were also culprits of sleep-killing noise.
The graph above shows the ten cities with the most noise pollution at night
Experts linked the noises to traffic congestion in cities, and also suggested that sounds from construction work could disrupt sleep.
For the report by wellness company Pure CBD Now, researchers extracted data from the national ArcGIS database on noise pollution per city over a 24-hour period.
Noise pollution is measured by decibel meters placed at strategic points in cities – such as near traffic jams – and which record dB levels throughout the night.
Forty-two cities in the analysis had more nighttime noise than the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of 40 dB – equivalent to the sound of light rain.
Only eight cities were found to have noise levels below the WHO maximum.
These were: Raleigh, Colorado Springs, Las Vegas, Tucson, Jacksonville, Oklahoma City, Bakersfield and Virginia Beach.
Overall, all cities surveyed had an average noise level of 42 dB at night – or two dB above the WHO recommended level.
In rural areas, previous research has shown that noise levels hover around 20 to 30 dB over a 24-hour period – equivalent to the sound of rustling leaves.
Experts warn that noise at night can cause people to wake up more often and have a poorer night’s sleep
The CDC says everyone should get an average of seven to nine hours of sleep per night, although research shows that one in three Americans doesn’t get this.
Experts say Miami is probably the noisiest city, as the city suffers from significant traffic congestion. There was also an above-average level of construction work at the time of the survey, which could also boost its position in the rankings.
New York City – despite being known as the ‘city that never sleeps’ – came in third.
Experts say this may be due to the size of the city, which has many more quiet spots in the suburbs.
In Miami, on the other hand, the sound is much more concentrated.
At the other end of the scale, Virginia Beach was considered the quietest city.
Experts say this may be because residential buildings are more spread out and the city has more parks.
Anthony Bautista, the CEO of Pure CBD Now, said nighttime noise was disrupting people’s sleep.
‘Urban areas tend to have more noise pollution from traffic, nightlife and other urban activities, which can disrupt sleep.’
‘Rural areas or neighborhoods with lower population densities may provide a quieter environment conducive to better sleep.’
| Rank | City, state | Average noise level (dB) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 — WHO maximum — 43 44 454647484950 |
Miami, FL Boston, MA New York, New York Chicago, Ill Louisville, KY Denver, Colo San Francisco, California Minneapolis, Minnesota Long Beach, California Oakland, California Seattle, Washington Portland, Ore Washington, DC Arlington, Texas Philadelphia, PA Fresno, California Los Angeles, California Sacramento, California Memphis, Tenn Houston, Texas Dallas, Texas San Jose, California Charlotte, North Carolina Columbus, OH Milwaukee, WI Detroit, Mich San Antonio, Texas Atlanta, Georgia Indianapolis, Indiana Mesa, Ariz Baltimore, Maryland Wichita, Kansas Tulsa, Okla San Diego, California Albuquerque, New Mexico Fort Worth, Texas Tampa, Fla Phoenix, Ariz Austin, Texas Kansas City, MO Omaha, Nebraska El Paso, Texas — WHO maximum noise level 40dB — Raleigh, North Carolina Colorado Springs, Colorado Las Vegas, NevadaTucson, ArizonaJacksonville, FloridaOklahoma City, OklahomaBakersfield, CaliforniaVirginia Beach, Virginia |
52.31 49.28 48.93 48.18 47.95 46.86 46.58 46.05 45.81 45.59 44.98 44.75 44.66 44.66 44.3 44.05 43.96 43.69 43.36 42.97 42.89 42.62 42.6 42.54 42.53 42.43 42.36 42.19 41.94 41.87 41.82 41.6 41.37 41.18 41.02 40.85 40.84 40.67 40.65 40.61 40.11 40.07 —WHO maximum — 39.99 39.76 39.6239.5538.9638.6937.6936.7 |
