Noise Levels in 23420, VA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
46 dBA
Average noise across 23420
Quiet office
206
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
9% of 23420 residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 23420 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 206 23420 residents, or 9.0%, live above that level. By land area, 13.8% of 23420 is above 55 dBA.
86.2% below 55 dBA
13.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 23420 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 23420
Average noise levels for 23420 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 23420. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern 23420; the lowest is in northern 23420, where just 1% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern 23420
43.9 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southeastern 23420
43.9 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Western 23420
42.0 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Northwestern 23420
41.7 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Northern 23420
41.5 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in eastern 23420 sounds about 18% louder than in northern 23420, a 2.4 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 76 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 44% of 23420 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 3% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of 23420. 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 23420
The bar chart below shows the share of 23420 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 23420 Compares
23420 sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how 23420's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 23410, 23350, 23308, and 23417.
Average noise level (dBA)
23420's 46.2 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Virginia as a whole averages 52.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 23420 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 9.0% of 23420 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 13.8% of 23420's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Virginia average of 30.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 23420
- 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 44% of 23420 is under tree cover (heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is cultivated cropland. 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.
