Noise Levels in 17009, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across 17009
Quiet office to normal conversation
503
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
27% of 17009 residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 17009 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 503 17009 residents, or 27.2%, live above that level. By land area, 19.4% of 17009 is above 55 dBA.
80.6% below 55 dBA
19.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 17009 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 17009
Average noise levels for 17009 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 17009. The highest population-weighted average is in southern 17009; the lowest is in northeastern 17009, where just 15% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southern 17009
55.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 17009
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern 17009
50.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southern 17009 sounds about 39% louder than in northeastern 17009, a 4.7 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 L002 Freedom Av do you need to be?
L002 Freedom Av produces an estimated 56 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
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 24% of 17009 sits under tree canopy (about average for zip codes) and roughly 31% 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 17009. 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 17009
The bar chart below shows the share of 17009 residents in each noise band. About 60% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 12% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 17009 Compares
17009 sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how 17009's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 17058, 17099, 17063, and 17024.
Average noise level (dBA)
17009's 53.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 17009 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 27.2% of 17009 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, 19.4% of 17009's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Pennsylvania average of 33.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 17009
- 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 L002 Freedom Av 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 24% of 17009 is under tree cover (about average for 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.
