The National Transportation Noise Exposure Map

We describe the development and public availability of the National Transportation Noise Exposure Map with the goal of estimating population exposures to various noise levels at the census tract level in the United States. The map was created by overlaying the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ National Transportation Noise Map with 5-year block group population estimates from the American Community Survey, and aggregating exposed population estimates to the census tract level. Based on the exposure map, an estimated 94.9 million people (29.1 % of the total U. S. population) were exposed to ≥ 45 dB LAeq of transportation-related noise, and approximately 11.9 million (3.6 %) were exposed to ≥ 60 dB in the year 2020.The exposure maps indicate that the greatest population proportion and number of individuals exposed were in California, while generally the map illustrates high proportions of exposure for populations living along major U. S. roadways and in airport communities. The availability of this new exposure map will facilitate the integration of noise exposures into a variety of studies, including regional and national health impact assessments, epidemiologic, and environmental justice studies.