Noise maps

Interactive block-level noise heatmaps for every city in the 311info catalog with sufficient geocoded 311 noise-complaint data. Tap any block or search any address to get a “complaints per week within a block” count, computed directly from each city’s open data portal.

Current release

Data through May 2026

Last record: May 16, 2026

Monthly refresh · 3 cities records

How these maps are built

For each eligible city, every geocoded 311 noise complaint from the trailing 12 months is placed at its reported lat/lng and weighted by complaint type (construction and amplified music count more) and time of day (complaints filed 10pm to 7am count 2×, reflecting the disproportionate health impact of night noise). The city is tiled into a 200m grid and each cell’s density is computed via Gaussian KDE (σ = 200m). Tapping or searching an address returns a raw, unweighted “complaints per week within a block” count directly verifiable against the city’s open data feed.

Read the full methodology, citations, and caveats →

Cities with a noise map

Cities without a noise map

A city becomes eligible for a noise map when its 311 feed publishes at least 500 geocoded noise-category complaints in the trailing year and those complaints are spread across at least 20% of the city’s mapped area. Cities where complaints concentrate in a small area may not qualify even with high total complaint volume. Chicago is a special case: its 311 system publishes a large volume of noise complaints, but 100% are aircraft-noise filings with no reported coordinates, so there’s nothing to pin on a map.

The complaints per week within a blockcount shown on each map is the direct, unweighted number you can verify against the city’s open data feed. Counts are not comparable across cities in absolute terms — cities differ in population density, reporting culture, and 311 system design. Full methodology →