Quiet hours, decibel limits, and complaint procedures for the twenty largest US metros — each summarised from the city's own code, with a link to the source so you can check it.
The single most useful thing to know before filing a complaint is which kind of standard your city uses, because it determines whether a decibel reading settles the question or merely supports it.
A number, a location, and a time window. Boston's 70 dBA day / 50 dBA night is the clearest example. Here a measurement can establish the violation on its own.
New York and Los Angeles compare the noise to the ambient level. The same 65 dBA can be legal on a busy street and a violation on a quiet one, so measure the background too.
Atlanta and Philadelphia ask whether sound carries a set distance during restricted hours. A reading corroborates your account; the distance and time are what the test turns on.
| City | Quiet hours | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM weekdays; 10:00 PM – 9:00 AM weekends | Mixed standard |
| Los Angeles, CA | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Mixed standard |
| Chicago, IL | 8:00 PM – 8:00 AM for noise on the public way | Mixed standard |
| Dallas, TX | No single citywide quiet period; amplified sound near residences is restricted from sunset to 8:00 AM | Mixed standard |
| Houston, TX | 10:00 PM – 8:00 AM for most permitted amplified sound | Measured decibel limits |
| Atlanta, GA | 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM Sunday through Thursday; midnight – 7:00 AM Friday and Saturday | Plainly-audible standard |
| Washington, DC | 9:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Measured decibel limits |
| Philadelphia, PA | 9:00 PM – 8:00 AM in residential areas | Plainly-audible standard |
| Miami, FL | 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM for amplified sound and music | Measured decibel limits |
| Phoenix, AZ | Heightened scrutiny 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM; residential quiet hours commonly treated as 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Plainly-audible standard |
| Boston, MA | 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Measured decibel limits |
| Riverside, CA | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Measured decibel limits |
| San Francisco, CA | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Measured decibel limits |
| Detroit, MI | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM, extending to 11:00 PM Friday and Saturday in the Central Business District | Mixed standard |
| Seattle, WA | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM weekdays; 10:00 PM – 9:00 AM weekends and legal holidays | Measured decibel limits |
| Minneapolis, MN | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM for most activities | Mixed standard |
| Tampa, FL | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM outside the entertainment districts | Mixed standard |
| San Diego, CA | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Measured decibel limits |
| Denver, CO | 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM weekdays; 11:00 PM – 8:00 AM weekends | Measured decibel limits |
| Baltimore, MD | 9:00 PM – 7:00 AM | Measured decibel limits |
Most cities route noise through 311 for ongoing sources and through police non-emergency for active disturbances such as parties. Both go better with a record. Measure with the online decibel meter, note the date, time, duration, and where you measured from, and measure the background level before the noise starts if your city uses a relative standard.
A phone microphone is accurate to roughly ±2 dB and is not a calibrated instrument. It is well suited to establishing a pattern and deciding whether to escalate — not to producing evidence for an enforcement hearing, which needs a calibrated meter.
Every city summary on this site links to the municipal code it came from and shows the date it was last checked. Codes are amended often — confirm against the source before relying on a figure. None of this is legal advice.