America's Noisiest Cities

If silence is golden, then Hartford, Conn., is a veritable Fort Knox: It came in as the quietest zip code in our survey of 100 U.S. cities. We know what you're thinking: "But isn't urban life supposed to be loud?" Yes, but many cities are so noisy that the daily din can boost your blood pressure, sabotage your sleep, and elevate your heart rate.

To pinpoint where the clamor may be calamitous, we first checked to see whether a city has laws limiting excessive noise, such as from barking dogs, honking horns, and construction work. Next we checked with the Texas Transportation Institute to come up with the most traffic-congested towns, and went to Boeing for a list of cities that impose a curfew on airports' overnight flights. Finally, we factored in the percentage of people who report sleeping seven hours or less a night, from Experian Consumer Research.

Loudest Towns:

100. Detroit, F

99. Oakland, Calif., F

98. Memphis, Tenn., F

97. Philadelphia, F

96. Miami, F

95. Chicago, F

94. Atlanta, F

93. San Francisco, F

92. Houston, F

91. Jacksonville, Fla., F

90. Dallas, F

89. Fort Worth, Texas, D-

88. Orlando, Fla., D

87. St. Petersburg, Fla., D

86. New York City, D-

85. Newark, N.J., D-

84. Phoenix, D-

83. Boise, Idaho, D

82. Bakersfield, Calif., D

81. Norfolk, Va., D+

80. Baltimore, Md., D+

79. Tampa, Fla., D+

78. Portland, Ore., D+

77. Montgomery, Ala., D+

76. Austin, Texas, D+

75. Pittsburgh, D+

74. Bangor, Maine, D+

73. Fresno, Calif., D+

72. Tulsa, Okla., D+

71. Charlotte, N.C., D+

70. San Antonio, Texas, D+

69. Sacramento, Calif., D+

68. Omaha, Neb., C-

67. Providence, R.I., C-

66. Milwaukee, Wis., C-

65. Indianapolis, C-

64. Fargo, N.D.,  C-

63. Columbus, Ohio, C-

62. Louisville, Ky., C-

61. Tucson, Ariz., C-

60. Jackson, Miss., C-

59. Nashville, C-

58. Honolulu, C-

57. Cleveland, C-

56. Wilmington, Del., C-

55. San Jose, Calif., C-

54. Birmingham, Ala., C-

53. Las Vegas, C-

52. Kansas City, Mo., C-

51. El Paso, Texas, C-

50. Los Angeles, C-

49. Lexington-Fayette, Ky., C-

48. Boston, C

47. Richmond, Va., C

46. Baton Rouge, La., C

45. Minneapolis, C

44. Durham, N.C., C

43. Raleigh, N.C., C

42. Fort Wayne, Ind., C

41. Burlington, Vt., C

40. Rochester, N.Y., C

39. Charleston, W.V., C

38. Washington, D.C., C

37. Lubbock, Texas, C

36. San Diego, Calif., C

35. Buffalo, N.Y., C

34. Colorado Springs, Colo., C

33. Arlington, Texas, C+

32. Salt Lake City, Utah, C+

31. Columbia, S.C., C+

30. Little Rock, Ark., C+

29. Wichita, Kan., C+

28. Albuquerque, N.M., C+

27. Seattle, C+

26. St. Paul, Minn., C+

25. Corpus Christi, Texas, C+

24. Anchorage, Ak., C+

23. Oklahoma City, C+

22. Denver, B-

21. Manchester, N.H., B-

20. Grand Rapids, Mich., B-

19. St. Louis, B-

18. Aurora, Colo., B-

17. Toledo, Ohio, B-

16. Fremont, Calif., B

15. Billings, Mont., B

14. Greensboro, N.C., B

13. Jersey City, N.J., B

12. Spokane, Wash., B

11. Sioux Falls, S.D., B

Capitals of Quiet:

10. Madison, Wis., B

9. Des Moines, Iowa, B

8. Lincoln, Neb., B

7. Anaheim, Calif., B

6. Yonkers, N.Y., A-

5. Riverside, Calif., A-

4. Modesto, Calif., A

3. Cincinnati, A+

2. Cheyenne, Wy., A+

1. Hartford, Conn., A+

Turn it down!

Cranking your car stereo or iPod is an assault on your ears. Lower the volume until no one can hear music leaking from your headphones or car. After a few weeks, your hearing will adjust to this new level and perceive it as plenty loud, says Catherine Palmer, Ph.D., director of audiology at the University of Pittsburgh medical center.

The silent treatment

A noisy hospital is a dangerous hospital. Not only can noise hinder healing by keeping patients awake, but research shows it can also lead to medication miscommunications among the staff. Now consider that Johns Hopkins University researchers found that their hospital operates at 60 decibels or higher, nearly twice the 35 dB limit set by the World Health Organization. "Hospitals seem to be built in a way that doesn't consider acoustics," says study author Jim West, Ph.D. Contact your representatives in Congress and request more funding for research on how to reduce hospital noise.