The Data
NYC's 311 system logs hundreds of thousands of noise complaints a year, each with a location, timestamp and category. For every residential NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA) we placed 100 random points inside its boundary and counted the 311 noise complaints filed within 100 meters of each point — roughly a one-block radius, the same count the DwellCheck address report shows. The ranking uses the median point: the typical spot in the neighborhood.
The 15 Noisiest NYC Neighborhoods
Higher is louder. "Median" is the number of 311 noise complaints within 100 meters of the typical sampled spot, March 13, 2026 to September 13, 2026; "mean" averages all 100 spots, so a single heavily reported building can pull it well above the median.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Borough | Median / 100m | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Fordham Heights | Bronx | 187 | 222 |
| #2 | Mount Hope | Bronx | 132.5 | 177.4 |
| #3 | Manhattan | 86.5 | 92 | |
| #4 | Harlem (South) | Manhattan | 86 | 119.1 |
| #5 | Mount Eden-Claremont (West) | Bronx | 85 | 117.3 |
| #6 | Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill | Manhattan | 76 | 109.5 |
| #7 | Washington Heights (South) | Manhattan | 73 | 137.4 |
| #8 | University Heights (South)-Morris Heights | Bronx | 68 | 131.8 |
| #9 | Bronx | 62.5 | 72.1 | |
| #10 | Bushwick (West) | Brooklyn | 62 | 78.7 |
| #11 | Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village | Bronx | 59.5 | 91.1 |
| #12 | Manhattan | 59 | 80.6 | |
| #13 | Washington Heights (North) | Manhattan | 53.5 | 109.9 |
| #14 | Harlem (North) | Manhattan | 52 | 73.6 |
| #15 | Brooklyn | 50.5 | 72.1 |
Data source: NYC Open Data 311 Service Requests (erm2-nwe9), pulled September 14, 2026; 100 random points per neighborhood.
ℹ️Noise isn't always bad
High 311 noise complaint counts often track nightlife, busy commercial streets or construction. That's a feature for some renters and a dealbreaker for others. What matters is the type of noise and the time of day — both of which you can see in the raw 311 feed.
Check Noise Data for Any Address
Neighborhood rankings are a starting point. Enter any NYC address to see the 311 noise complaints within 100m and how that count ranks against the rest of the neighborhood.
Check Any Address — FreeMethodology
- Source: 311 Service Requests from 2010 to Present (NYC Open Data dataset
erm2-nwe9), pulled September 14, 2026. - Time window: Complaints created March 13, 2026 through September 13, 2026, the six months ending at the latest complaint date published when the data was pulled.
- Complaint types: "Noise - Residential", "Noise - Commercial", "Noise - Street/Sidewalk", "Noise - Vehicle", "Noise - Park", "Noise".
- Geographic unit: The 197 residential 2020 NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs); parks, airports, cemeteries and other non-residential NTAs are not ranked.
- Sampling: 100 random points inside each NTA boundary (seeded, so a rerun on the same data reproduces them). For each point, NYC Open Data counts the complaints within 100 meters (straight-line distance). A point near a neighborhood or borough edge counts complaints across it.
- Ranking: The median of the 100 point counts, highest first; ties are broken by the mean.
What About Quieter Neighborhoods?
At the other end of the same ranking, the neighborhoods with the fewest noise complaints around the typical spot are Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Lighthouse Hill-Manor Heights (Staten Island, median 0), Annadale-Huguenot-Prince's Bay-Woodrow (Staten Island, median 0), Tottenville-Charleston (Staten Island, median 0), Douglaston-Little Neck (Queens, median 0), and New Springville-Willowbrook-Bulls Head-Travis (Staten Island, median 0). The quietest neighborhoods guide has the full list.
But the only way to really know is to check a specific address. Use DwellCheck to see the 311 complaint counts around any NYC building.
Frequently Asked Questions
1Which NYC neighborhood is the loudest?
By 311 noise complaints, the loudest NYC neighborhood is Fordham Heights (Bronx). At the typical (median) spot of 100 random points we sampled there, 187 noise complaints were filed within 100 meters between March 13, 2026 and September 13, 2026. That's about 23.4x the citywide median of 8.
2What counts as a noise complaint in NYC 311?
The ranking counts six 311 complaint types: "Noise - Residential", "Noise - Commercial", "Noise - Street/Sidewalk", "Noise - Vehicle", "Noise - Park", "Noise". Together they cover loud music and parties, banging, loud talking, car horns and engine idling, and, under the plain "Noise" type, construction outside permitted hours, alarms, barking dogs and air-conditioning or ventilation equipment. Helicopter, house-of-worship and collection-truck noise complaints are not counted. These are the same six types the DwellCheck address report counts.
3Does a lot of noise complaints mean a bad neighborhood?
Not always. 311 counts reported complaints, not measured sound, and many complaints are about parties, music or nightlife, which some renters want nearby. What matters is whether the noise is persistent or occasional, and where on the block you would live. Check the specific address and the complaint types near it.
4How do I find a quiet NYC neighborhood?
By the same measure, the five quietest neighborhoods are Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Lighthouse Hill-Manor Heights (Staten Island), Annadale-Huguenot-Prince's Bay-Woodrow (Staten Island), Tottenville-Charleston (Staten Island), Douglaston-Little Neck (Queens), New Springville-Willowbrook-Bulls Head-Travis (Staten Island). See the Quietest NYC Neighborhoods guide for the full list, and check any specific address on DwellCheck for its own 100-meter noise complaint count.
5Are these rankings fair to diverse neighborhoods?
311 data captures reported complaints, not measured decibels. Neighborhoods where residents call 311 more often will rank higher than neighborhoods with the same noise and fewer calls. Use these rankings as a directional signal, not a decibel reading.
6How often is this list updated?
NYC's 311 data updates daily through NYC Open Data. This list does not update with it: DwellCheck recomputes it by script, and the current numbers come from a pull on September 14, 2026 covering complaints filed March 13, 2026 through September 13, 2026. Construction projects and new bars can shift a neighborhood over a few months. Counts also move with the season: across September 2025 to August 2026, January 2026 (43,921) and February 2026 (40,736) had the fewest 311 noise complaints citywide, and October 2025 (81,026) the most.
7Can I filter noise by time of day?
Yes, on the raw 311 data. 311 complaints include a timestamp, so you can distinguish daytime construction from late-night party complaints. DwellCheck's address report counts complaints by type, not by time of day, so check the timestamps on NYC Open Data if timing matters.
8What about subway noise?
This ranking counts 311 complaints only, not measured sound. None of the six counted complaint types is specific to trains, so noise from elevated lines shows up here only to the extent people report it to 311 under one of those types. If a building is near an elevated line, visit at rush hour.
The Bottom Line
The 15 neighborhoods above come from 311 complaint counts, not reputation. Use them as a signal, not a verdict — then check the specific block before you sign anything.
Check Noise Data for Any NYC Address
See the 311 noise complaint count within 100m of any NYC building, ranked against the neighborhood and the borough.
Check Any Address — FreeNo account needed. Results in under 30 seconds.
Related Guides
15 Quietest NYC Neighborhoods
The opposite ranking — where NYC files the fewest noise complaints
NYC Noise Complaint Lookup
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Rattiest NYC Neighborhoods
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NYC Safety Score by Address
Block-level data for any specific address