The Data
NYC's 311 system receives tens of thousands of noise complaints every year. Every call is logged with a precise location, timestamp, and category (residential, commercial, construction, street). We aggregate the 311 feed by NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA) and normalize to average complaints per 100-meter walking radius — roughly a one-block radius, the distance that actually determines whether your apartment is quiet.
The 15 Noisiest NYC Neighborhoods
Higher is louder. All values are average 311 noise complaints per 100-meter walking radius, aggregated across every residential building in the NTA over the last 12 months of reported data.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Borough | Noise / 100m |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Hunts Point | Bronx | 20 |
| #2 | Midtown-Times Square | Manhattan | 18 |
| #3 | Mott Haven-Port Morris | Bronx | 18 |
| #4 | East New York-New Lots | Brooklyn | 17 |
| #5 | Fordham Heights | Bronx | 17 |
| #6 | East Harlem (South) | Manhattan | 16 |
| #7 | Bushwick (East) | Brooklyn | 16 |
| #8 | East New York (North) | Brooklyn | 16 |
| #9 | Concourse-Concourse Village | Bronx | 16 |
| #10 | Harlem (North) | Manhattan | 15 |
| #11 | Bedford-Stuyvesant (East) | Brooklyn | 15 |
| #12 | Bushwick (West) | Brooklyn | 15 |
| #13 | Midtown South-Flatiron-Union Square | Manhattan | 14 |
| #14 | Harlem (South) | Manhattan | 14 |
| #15 | Lower East Side | Manhattan | 14 |
Data source: 311 Service Requests via NYC Open Data. Updated 2026-01.
ℹ️Noise isn't always bad
High 311 noise complaint rates often track with dense nightlife, active commercial corridors, or construction booms. That's a feature for some renters and a dealbreaker for others. What matters is the type of noise (chronic vs. episodic) and the time of day — both of which you can see in the raw 311 feed.
Check Noise Data for Any Address
Neighborhood averages are a starting point. Enter any NYC address to see 311 noise complaints within a 100m walking radius, broken down by category and time of day.
Check Any Address — $2.99Methodology
- Source: 311 Service Requests from 2010 to Present (NYC Open Data dataset
erm2-nwe9). - Time window: The most recent 12 months of reported complaints.
- Filters: All complaint types containing "noise" in the complaint_type field (residential, commercial, construction, street, vehicle, HVAC).
- Geographic unit: NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs).
- Normalization: For each residential address in the NTA, count 311 noise complaints within a 100-meter walking radius. Average across all addresses in the NTA.
- Excluded: NTAs with fewer than 50 residential addresses.
What About Quieter Neighborhoods?
If you're looking for the opposite of this list — the quietest NYC neighborhoods — the cleanest signal is residential-only areas with older housing stock and no major commercial corridors or elevated subway lines. Cooperative and condo buildings in the Upper East Side, parts of Riverdale, Forest Hills, and Park Slope tend to rank low on 311 noise complaints.
But the only way to really know is to check a specific address. Use DwellCheck to see the 311 complaint density for any NYC building.
Frequently Asked Questions
1Which NYC neighborhood is the loudest?
Based on 311 noise complaints per 100-meter walking radius, the loudest NYC neighborhood is Hunts Point (Bronx) with 20 average complaints per 100m. That's roughly 1.9x the citywide average.
2What counts as a noise complaint in NYC 311?
NYC 311 accepts noise complaints in several categories: residential noise (neighbor parties, music), commercial noise (bars, restaurants, businesses), construction noise (work outside permitted hours), street noise (cars, trucks, idling), and noise from commercial or residential air conditioners. All categories are aggregated in this ranking.
3Does a lot of noise complaints mean a bad neighborhood?
Not always. High 311 noise complaint rates often correlate with dense nightlife, active commercial corridors, or construction booms — all of which can be features, not bugs, depending on your lifestyle. What matters is whether the noise is persistent (chronic heat-system noise, ongoing construction) or episodic (weekend nightlife). Check the specific block and time-of-day pattern.
4How do I find a quiet NYC neighborhood?
The quietest NYC neighborhoods tend to be residential-only areas with few commercial corridors and older housing stock. Check any specific address on DwellCheck for a walking-radius 311 noise complaint count. For a general rule: avoid the 15 neighborhoods in this list, plus any area within 100m of a major bar strip, elevated subway, or 24-hour commercial zone.
5Are these rankings fair to diverse neighborhoods?
311 data captures reported complaints, not measured decibels. Neighborhoods with higher civic engagement tend to file more complaints. A "quiet" neighborhood by 311 data may simply have residents who don't call the city. 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 was last generated using data from 2026-01. Rankings are relatively stable quarter-to-quarter; major construction projects or new liquor license clusters can shift them over months.
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 block-level analysis considers both the volume and the time-of-day distribution — a neighborhood with 100 daytime construction complaints behaves very differently from one with 100 late-night party complaints.
8What about subway noise?
Subway noise from elevated lines (7 in Queens, J/M/Z in Brooklyn, 1 in upper Manhattan, 6 through parts of the Bronx) is captured in 311 data as "noise - street/sidewalk" or "noise - vehicle" depending on how it gets reported. Buildings within 50m of elevated tracks consistently rank high in noise complaints.
The Bottom Line
NYC's noisiest neighborhoods are the ones where the 311 complaints hold up under scrutiny. The 15 above come from live 311 data, not hearsay. 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 311 noise complaints, type breakdown, and time-of-day patterns for any NYC building — free walking-radius analysis.
Check Any Address — $2.99No account needed. Results in under 30 seconds.