This Is the Loudest State in America

The U.S. is a nation of hustle and bustle. Traffic can be a nightmare, construction projects are endless, and the country is home to some of the busiest airports—not to mention an enormous number of people. So, unless you've found a hideaway in Washington's Olympic National Park, dubbed one of the quietest places on earth, chances are your home state can get pretty loud—and that can interfere with your quality of life. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls noise pollution an "underestimated threat" that can cause health problems like sleep disruption, cardiovascular issues, and hearing loss. This all got us wondering which U.S. state is the loudest—so we crunched the numbers to find out.

To start, we calculated the population density—the number of people per square mile—for each of the 50 states using the latest U.S. Census population data and each state's total land area in square miles. Then, we compared the U.S. Department of Transportation's total motor vehicle registrations to the state's population to determine the number of vehicles per capita. We also looked into how much noise construction and air traffic added to the mix. For that, we tallied the construction spending per capita based on a report from the Associated General Contractors of America, comparing private nonresidential spending and state and local spending with the total population. And for air traffic we calculated the number of flights that land and fly over each state every year using travel data site ChampionTraveler.

We ran each of these metrics through our exclusive algorithm to generate a loudness score based on a 100-point scale with 100 being the noisiest. According to our Loudness Index, the East Coast is not the place to go for some peace and quiet. Which other parts of the country are bringing the noise? Read on to discover where your state falls as we rank all 50 of them from quietest to loudest. And to see where you're most likely to find people that enjoy a cocktail or two, This Is the Drunkest State in America.

Population density: 67.70

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.99

Construction spending per capita: $924.70

Number of flights: 19,389

Loudness Score: 0.00

And for the place that is the least polite, This Is the Rudest State in America.

Population density: 43.58

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.84

Construction spending per capita: $1,665.66

Number of flights: 7,299

Loudness Score: 3.64

Population density: 151.87

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.99

Construction spending per capita: $950.94

Number of flights: 26,036

Loudness Score: 5.24

And if you don't want to live in a place where you'll be surrounded by big spenders, This Is the Stingiest State in America.

Population density: 63.43

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.69

Construction spending per capita: $861.18

Number of flights: 433,673

Loudness Score: 15.17

Population density: 21.62

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.07

Construction spending per capita: $1,473.37

Number of flights: 215,391

Loudness Score: 21.59

And for the place that may lower your chances of living a long life, This Is the Deadliest State in America.

Population density: 1.28

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.09

Construction spending per capita: $2,505.66

Number of flights: 35,897

Loudness Score: 24.98

Want more state guides delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for our daily newsletter.

Population density: 176.64

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.84

Construction spending per capita: $1,345.87

Number of flights: 397,548

Loudness Score: 31.20

And to find out what part of the U.S. is most pungent, This Is the Smelliest State in America.

Population density: 43.94

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.94

Construction spending per capita: $2,269.46

Number of flights: 245,511

Loudness Score: 31.97

Population density: 74.55

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.94

Construction spending per capita: $1,267.20

Number of flights: 468,751

Loudness Score: 32.94

And for more about states that aren't very generous, This Is the Stingiest State in America.

Population density: 107.51

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.98

Construction spending per capita: $2,191.52

Number of flights: 209,976

Loudness Score: 33.04

Population density: 70.83

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.96

Construction spending per capita: $2,406.36

Number of flights: 199,222

Loudness Score: 33.14

Population density: 58.00

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.94

Construction spending per capita: $1,652.53

Number of flights: 409,850

Loudness Score: 33.92

Population density: 114.59

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.95

Construction spending per capita: $2,449.67

Number of flights: 175,241

Loudness Score: 33.99

Population density: 17.29

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.87

Construction spending per capita: $1,383.99

Number of flights: 597,261

Loudness Score: 37.73

Population density: 39.02

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.75

Construction spending per capita: $2,013.44

Number of flights: 532,843

Loudness Score: 39.83

Population density: 7.34

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.74

Construction spending per capita: $1,673.87

Number of flights: 108,714

Loudness Score: 40.75

Population density: 220.44

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.89

Construction spending per capita: $3,015.10

Number of flights: 102,602

Loudness Score: 41.10

Population density: 35.63

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.92

Construction spending per capita: $1,847.72

Number of flights: 517,341

Loudness Score: 42.23

Population density: 5.96

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.45

Construction spending per capita: $1,847.06

Number of flights: 252,633

Loudness Score: 42.28

Population density: 25.18

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.02

Construction spending per capita: $2,009.92

Number of flights: 437,382

Loudness Score: 42.35

Population density: 57.69ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.94

Construction spending per capita: $1,988.90

Number of flights: 463,752

Loudness Score: 42.58

Population density: 89.28

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.90

Construction spending per capita: $1,479.77

Number of flights: 591,675

Loudness Score: 43.47

Population density: 171.28

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.88

Construction spending per capita: $1,943.79

Number of flights: 465,641

Loudness Score: 45.67

Population density: 107.60

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.83

Construction spending per capita: $2,930.87

Number of flights: 351,380

Loudness Score: 48.19

Population density: 736.33

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.81

Construction spending per capita: $1,429.34

Number of flights: 215,979

Loudness Score: 48.29

Population density: 96.81

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.08

Construction spending per capita: $1,989.12

Number of flights: 471,774

Loudness Score: 50.36

Population density: 400.52

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.82

Construction spending per capita: $1,763.87

Number of flights: 455,357

Loudness Score: 52.23

Population density: 64.08

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.81

Construction spending per capita: $1,705.52

Number of flights: 744,219

Loudness Score: 52.41

Population density: 184.61

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.81

Construction spending per capita: $1,819.74

Number of flights: 646,556

Loudness Score: 53.93

Population density: 165.62

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.85

Construction spending per capita: $1,827.01

Number of flights: 646,301

Loudness Score: 54.55

Population density: 11.67

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.44

Construction spending per capita: $3,079.15

Number of flights: 159,320

Loudness Score: 54.80

Population density: 11.04

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.19

Construction spending per capita: $4,154.52

Number of flights: 71,814

Loudness Score: 55.98

Population density: 113.15

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.98

Construction spending per capita: $2,089.68

Number of flights: 592,471

Loudness Score: 56.83

Population density: 55.56

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.94

Construction spending per capita: $1,921.78

Number of flights: 706,852

Loudness Score: 57.45

Population density: 187.91

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.92

Construction spending per capita: $1,735.24

Number of flights: 700,420

Loudness Score: 60.47

Population density: 253.64

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.79

Construction spending per capita: $1,628.64

Number of flights: 755,344

Loudness Score: 60.89

Population density: 286.07

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.93

Construction spending per capita: $1,642.13

Number of flights: 697,626

Loudness Score: 64.31

Population density: 56.48

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.17

Construction spending per capita: $2,671.89

Number of flights: 512,782

Loudness Score: 64.36

Population density: 228.24

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.83

Construction spending per capita: $1,312.28

Number of flights: 889,783

Loudness Score: 65.26

Population density: 883.65

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.74

Construction spending per capita: $2,581.94

Number of flights: 146,056

Loudness Score: 66.08

Population density: 28.06

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.83

Construction spending per capita: $2,877.45

Number of flights: 713,776

Loudness Score: 66.86

Population density: 286.12

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.84

Construction spending per capita: $1,733.09

Number of flights: 769,222

Loudness Score: 66.91

Population density: 215.72

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.79

Construction spending per capita: $1,836.94

Number of flights: 838,934

Loudness Score: 67.68

Population density: 412.80

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.59

Construction spending per capita: $2,884.10

Number of flights: 574,296

Loudness Score: 69.00

Population density: 111.00

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.77

Construction spending per capita: $2,824.09

Number of flights: 740,976

Loudness Score: 70.13

Population density: 499.62

Number of vehicles per capita: 1.04

Construction spending per capita: $2,447.20

Number of flights: 383,906

Loudness Score: 70.88

Population density: 622.82

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.70

Construction spending per capita: $1,571.87

Number of flights: 680,633

Loudness Score: 71.00

Population density: 1024.53

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.82

Construction spending per capita: $2,236.25

Number of flights: 152,695

Loudness Score: 71.80

Population density: 216.14

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.89

Construction spending per capita: $1,867.61

Number of flights: 954,182

Loudness Score: 79.44

Population density: 1207.80

Number of vehicles per capita: 0.68

Construction spending per capita: $1,395.04

Number of flights: 710,816

Loudness Score: 100.00