Noise Levels in 08884, NJ | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
45 dBA
Average noise across 08884
Quiet suburban street at night
667
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
10% of 08884 residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 08884 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 667 08884 residents, or 10.2%, live above that level. By land area, 12.4% of 08884 is above 55 dBA.
87.6% below 55 dBA
12.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 08884 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 08884
Average noise levels for 08884 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 08884. The highest population-weighted average is in western 08884; the lowest is in southwestern 08884, where just 5% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Western 08884
51.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 08884
51.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern 08884
49.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern 08884
47.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southwestern 08884
46.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in western 08884 sounds about 40% louder than in southwestern 08884, a 4.9 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 Snowhill St do you need to be?
Snowhill St produces an estimated 60 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
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
39 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 35% of 08884 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 30% 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 08884. 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.
Airport Noise
Newark Liberty International (EWR) sits northeast of 08884. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 08884, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 08884
The bar chart below shows the share of 08884 residents in each noise band. About 96% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 1% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 08884 Compares
08884 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 08884's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 08850, 08810, 08823, and 08824.
Average noise level (dBA)
08884's 44.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New Jersey as a whole averages 49.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 08884 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 10.2% of 08884 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's in the middle of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 12.4% of 08884's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Jersey average of 25.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 08884
- 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 Snowhill St 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 35% of 08884 is under tree cover (heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is low-intensity developed land. 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Newark Liberty International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
