Las Vegas ranks 7th noisiest city in the US

Las Vegas is the seventh noisiest city in the US, surpassing larger metropolitan areas including New York, according to a recent survey from Forbes Health.

The survey’s objective was to determine which metropolitan area in the US poses the greatest risk to the hearing health of its residents. According to another recent Forbes Health survey, of 500 hearing-impaired adults, 75% suspect their hearing loss is due to exposure to loud noises.

To determine which cities are the loudest, Forbes looked at the density of 11 types of noise-producing establishments, where sound can reach damaging levels, but also took into consideration how accessible these establishments are to the general public and whether they require some form of hearing protection for entry.

The noise producing categories are: 

• Restaurants and cafeterias
• Bars and nightclubs
• Movie theaters, including drive-in theaters
• Spectator sports events, including motor racing
• Concerts and performing arts venues
• Casinos, including casino-hotels
• Amusement parks, arcades and other recreation areas, including shooting ranges
• Transportation hubs, such as shipping harbors, train stations, bus depots, airports and warehouses
• Quarries and other mining sites
• Construction sites
• Manufacturing establishments

As you might imagine, Las Vegas took the cake in the casino category, but the city also ranked high in concerts, spectator sports, and bars and nightclubs.

These are the cities that ranked higher than Las Vegas.

1. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California
2. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
3. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania-New Jersey
4. Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina
5. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana
6. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York