Noise Levels in 12816, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
45 dBA
Average noise across 12816
Quiet suburban street at night
301
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
7% of 12816 residents
91 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 12816 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 301 12816 residents, or 7.4%, live above that level. By land area, 7.0% of 12816 is above 55 dBA.
93.0% below 55 dBA
7.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 12816 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 12816
Average noise levels for 12816 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 12816. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern 12816; the lowest is in southwestern 12816, where just 0% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern 12816
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern 12816
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 12816
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Eastern 12816
46.7 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southwestern 12816
41.8 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in southeastern 12816 sounds about 181% louder than in southwestern 12816, a 14.9 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 91 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 busy restaurant.
At source
91 dBA
Power saw
165 ft
80 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
74 dBA
City bus interior
660 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
¼ mile
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
½ mile
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 46% of 12816 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 6% 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 12816. 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 12816
The bar chart below shows the share of 12816 residents in each noise band. About 96% 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 12816 Compares
12816 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 12816's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 12871, 12809, 12170, and 12865.
Average noise level (dBA)
12816's 45.3 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 12816 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 7.4% of 12816 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, 7.0% of 12816'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 12816
- 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 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 46% of 12816 is under tree cover (heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is deciduous forest. 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.
