Cities can be a hub of vibrant culture and exciting opportunities, but they can also be loud. Find out which North American cities are the loudest with Betway!
Anyone who’s ever lived in a city knows that they’re a pretty hectic place to live. After all, such places are a hub of social opportunities, exciting business ventures, and interesting architectural venues.
But with all these nifty benefits come a whole host of noise-related downsides, such as traffic jams, regular construction and maintenance work, and the unbridled noise of revellers out enjoying themselves till the early hours of the morning.
Cities, by their very nature, are noisy places to live, but just which North American city is the loudest?
To find out, Betway Casino analyzed the biggest cities in both the US and Canada on a variety of noise-related factors, including population density, congestion levels, and noise and light pollution, and then ranked them from most to least noisy based on the results.
Take a look at our results, below!
The top 5 noisiest cities in America
From the bustling streets of New York City to the all-day carousing found along the whole of Miami Beach, these are the top 5 noisiest cities in America, according to our index:
1. New York City
Likely coming as a surprise to no one, and winning by a landslide, the noisiest city in North America is absolutely New York City! With a total score of 88 out of 100, New York placed at or near the top for nearly all of our indexing factors.
For starters, New York came top of the list for population at roughly 8,258,000, which in turn meant it also placed first for population density at a staggering 10,612 residents per square kilometer.
Add to this the 59,270 searches were made in the past year around how to sleep in a noisy city (putting it first in this factor as well), and the fact that New York has a noise and light pollution score of 69.07 (the second highest overall), and it’s no surprise that the City That Never Sleeps is the noisiest city in the whole of America.
2. Los Angeles
Next up, with a score of 67, we have another famous American city. In second place – Los Angeles! While certainly not as built up as New York, Los Angeles still has an average population of 3,820,000, placing it second overall, though interestingly, with a lower overall population density of 3,135 people per square kilometer, Los Angeles only placed 11th in this factor.
Still, with the third highest level of noise and light pollution in our index at 65.34, the second highest number of searches around sleeping in noisy spaces (32,450) the highest level of congestion out of all the cities we looked at (43%), it’s clear that Los Angeles is not the quietest place to live.
3. San Fransisco
Continuing on with the theme of well-known American cities also being the loudest, our third-place city is San Fransisco. Scoring a total of 59 out of 100, the home of the Golden Gate Bridge is sadly also the home of excessive light and noise pollution, placing fourth in this category with 62.28 points.
And despite its relatively low average population of 808,900, San Fran actually came second in our index for population density at 6,689 people per kilometer squared, showing just how built up this city is. Combine this with the fourth-highest congestion rate overall (32%), and San Fran is lucky it didn’t place any higher.
4. Chicago
Travelling way up north to the Windy City, Chicago has the unenviable position of winning the fourth spot on our index. Saddled with a total score of 53 out of 100, Chicago landed the third spot when it comes to yearly searches around sleeping in a noisy city, and fifth for population density at 4,517 residents per square kilometer.
Given that Chicago has a total average population of 2,664,000 people, making it the third most populous city on our index, such population density is no surprise. And yet, Chicago only ranked tenth for noise and light pollution (58.65), showing that, despite how busy it might seem, Chicago does at least work to keep the noise low at night.
5. Miami
Finally, rounding out our top five American cities, we have Miami. Miami Florida is no stranger to late nights and riotous parties, but with a score of only 51 out of 100, it’s not nearly as noisy as you might think. This is exemplified by the fact that Miami is just 24th for noise and light pollution (52.01).
Unfortunately, Miami’s ranking in other factors is not enough to save it from our top five. For one thing, Miami is a nightmare for congestion, placing fifth on our list with a score of 33%. It’s also one of the most densely populated cities with 4,890 residents per square kilometer. In other words, those in the center of Miami may very well be wanting for sleep.
The top 5 noisiest cities in Canada
So, we know just how noisy American cities can be, but how does Canada compare? Do their most well-known cities share the same problems, or is the Canadian reputation for calm and peaceful living reflected in their city life:
1. Toronto
Well, sadly for Canada, its most populous city is responsible for quite the racket. Scoring 87 out of 100, Toronto is just barely below New York for noise levels and well above all the other American cities we looked at.
Naturally, part of this is because of the number of people living here. With an estimated population of 5,647,000, Toronto winds up with a population density of 3,088 people per square kilometer. Add to this the 24,330 yearly searches for sleeping in a noisy city and it’s obvious that residents here aren’t getting as much shut-eye as they’d like.
And it only gets worse for Toronto, as the city also placed second for congestion levels (31%) and fifth for noise and light pollution (48.53), which all goes to show exactly why Toronto took the top spot on our list for the loudest city in Canada.
2. Montreal
Following on from Toronto in second, we have Montreal, which scored 63 out of 100. Indeed, it seems those living in Montreal share similar experiences to Toronto residents, with noise and light pollution coming in at 48.95 (fourth overall), and congestion levels being roughly 28% (putting it fifth in this category).
Montreal is also one of the top cities in Canada for people searching for sleeping tips for noisy cities, with 8,660 searches being made in the last year (the third most in Canada). And when you also note that Montreal is the third most densely populated city with 2,658 residents per square kilometer, it’s no surprise it took the second spot for our Canadian index.
3. Vancouver
Hopping all the way over to Canada’s west coast for our third-place city, we have the ever-popular tourist destination of Vancouver. Scoring 62 out of 100, Vancouver actually ranked first for congestion levels (35%) and second for population density, with 2,661 people per square kilometer.
On top of this, Vancouver was also fourth for search volume around loud city living tips (8,420 searches in the last year), but interestingly, the city only came sixth for noise and light pollution (43.57), which may explain why such a bustling hub only placed third in our list overall.
4. Calgary
Dropping down substantially on the total score for our fourth-placed city, Calgary residents can celebrate the fact that their city ranked so high while only scoring 45 points out of 100! And there’s good reason for this as Calgary has the third-lowest levels of light pollution in our Canadian index at 37.70 – only being beaten out by Halifax and Waterloo!
Not only that, but Calgary has relatively low congestion overall, placing ninth with just 23%. However, Calgary was the second-highest city for search volume, with 10,500 being made in the last year. But with a lower population density of 2,100 residents per square kilometer (putting it sixth for this factor), Calgary avoids placing higher than it already is.
5. Ottawa
Last, but not least, we have the Canadian capital city – Ottawa! With a total point score of 44.35, those who call Ottawa their home can enjoy the benefits of low noise and light pollution levels (40.91) and good congestion levels at 26%.
But while these levels might be higher than Calgary’s, Ottawa, despite being the capital city, has a much lower population density than the rest of our top five. With only 1,945 residents per square kilometer, as capital cities go, Ottawa could be considered relatively peaceful.
So, there you have it; those are the noisiest cities in the US and Canada! Did your city make the cut? Perhaps you would have bet on certain cities ranking higher in our total index? Either way, you can find more interesting pieces like this one over on Betway, not to mention plenty of other opportunities to beat the odds and test your luck!
Methodology
This dataset contains 2 rankings, one ranks 60 US cities and the other ranks 13 Canadian cities, based on how loud each city is.
To do this, 5 different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalized to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given.
The normalized values were then summed and multiplied by 20 to give each city a total score out of 100. The cities were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used were as follows:
· Population density – the number of people per square kilometer (km2) in each city.
· Search volume – the number of searches in each city for noisy/difficulty sleeping related prompts between Jan 24 – Dec 24, including: ‘earplugs’, ‘sleep aid’, ‘too noisy’, ‘too loud’, and ‘can’t sleep’.
· Congestion level – the average additional time, in percent, lost to traffic in 2024, according to tomtom.
· Visitors return rate – the percentage of visitors who return back to the city, according to nomads.
· Noise and light pollution – a score representing the noise and light pollution levels in each city, according to numbeo.
The factors were indexed as follows:
· All Factors – high values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
All data is correct as of 10/01/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided.
