Noise Levels in 05472, VT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
42 dBA
Average noise across 05472
Quiet suburban street at night
45
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
3% of 05472 residents
86 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 05472 at 100-meter resolution, combining road, aviation, and rail sources. Green areas measure below 45 dBA. Orange and red exceed the EPA's 55 dBA outdoor threshold linked to long-term health effects. Use the layer toggles to view each source on its own or all together.
What the numbers sound like
- 30 dBAWhisper
- 40 dBASoft rainfall
- 45 dBAQuiet suburban street at night
- 50 dBAQuiet office
- 55 dBAEPA outdoor threshold: light traffic 100 ft away
- 60 dBANormal conversation an arm's length away
- 65 dBABusy restaurant
- 70 dBAHighway traffic 50 ft away
- 80 dBACity bus interior
Population Above the EPA Outdoor Threshold
The EPA's 55 dBA outdoor reference level is a common benchmark for residential noise exposure, especially for activity interference, annoyance, and long-term community noise concerns. About 45 05472 residents, or 2.6%, live above that level. By land area, 4.6% of 05472 is above 55 dBA.
95.4% below 55 dBA
4.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 05472 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 05472
Average noise levels for 05472 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 05472. The highest population-weighted average is in southern 05472; the lowest is in northern 05472, where just 1% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southern 05472
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southeastern 05472
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern 05472
46.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southern 05472 sounds about 19% louder than in northern 05472, a 2.5 dBA gap. Every 10 dBA roughly doubles perceived loudness. Within any of these directions, two homes a quarter mile apart can still differ by 10 or more dBA depending on how close they sit to a major highway.
How far back from Th-2 do you need to be?
Th-2 produces an estimated 53 dBA at its loudest centerline points. Noise drops logarithmically with distance, with the exact rate depending on what's between you and the road. Tree cover, walls, terrain, and pavement type all matter. At roughly a quarter mile back, traffic fades into the noise level of a soft rainfall.
At source
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 38% of 05472 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 0% is impervious surface like pavement and rooftops. Both are folded into the per-place decay rate above. Heavier canopy pulls noise down faster with distance; impervious surfaces slow the drop.
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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of 05472. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 05472
The bar chart below shows the share of 05472 residents in each noise band. About 93% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 05472 Compares
05472 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 05472's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 05473, 05674, 05487, and 05462.
Average noise level (dBA)
05472's 41.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Vermont as a whole averages 46.5 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 05472 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 2.6% of 05472 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 4.6% of 05472's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Vermont average of 12.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 05472
- Distance from highways matters more than the neighborhood name. Two homes in the same zip code can differ by 20 dBA if one sits 100 meters from Th-2 and the other 500 meters away. The model captures this at 100-meter resolution, so noise exposure changes block by block.
- Tree canopy can help reduce modeled noise exposure. Roughly 38% of 05472 is under tree cover (heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is pasture / hay. Both are measured from federal USDA Forest Service and USGS satellite imagery at 30-meter resolution. Streets with 60% or higher canopy show 3 to 5 dBA lower noise than comparable streets with bare ground or pavement, which is why the per-place decay rate above already accounts for it.
