Noise Levels in 11542, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across 11542
Quiet office to normal conversation
9,302
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
35% of 11542 residents
97 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 11542 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 9,302 11542 residents, or 34.7%, live above that level. By land area, 34.3% of 11542 is above 55 dBA.
65.7% below 55 dBA
34.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 11542 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 11542
Average noise levels for 11542 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 11542. The highest population-weighted average is in southern 11542; the lowest is in northern 11542, where just 14% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southern 11542
69.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southeastern 11542
59.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern 11542
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western 11542
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern 11542
51.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southern 11542 sounds about 263% louder than in northern 11542, a 18.6 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 Duck Pond Rd do you need to be?
Duck Pond Rd produces an estimated 59 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
59 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 42% of 11542 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 35% 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 11542. 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
Laguardia (LGA) sits southwest of 11542. 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 11542, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 11542
The bar chart below shows the share of 11542 residents in each noise band. About 59% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 10% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 11542 Compares
11542 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 11542's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 11050, 11791, 11803, and 11530.
Average noise level (dBA)
11542's 54.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 11542 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 34.7% of 11542 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, 34.3% of 11542's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 11542
- 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 Duck Pond Rd 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 42% of 11542 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. Laguardia's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
