Noise Levels in 28480, NC | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across 28480
Quiet office to normal conversation
654
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
33% of 28480 residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 28480 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 654 28480 residents, or 32.7%, live above that level. By land area, 29.1% of 28480 is above 55 dBA.
70.9% below 55 dBA
29.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 28480 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 28480
Average noise levels for 28480 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 28480. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 28480; the lowest is in southern 28480, where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 28480
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 28480
48.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northeastern 28480
47.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southern 28480
42.0 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 28480 sounds about 127% louder than in southern 28480, a 11.8 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 US-74 do you need to be?
US-74 produces an estimated 62 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
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
40 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 6% of 28480 sits under tree canopy (lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 68% 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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Airport Noise
Wilmington International (ILM) sits northwest of 28480. The U.S. Department of Transportation models aviation noise around this airport from federal traffic data, 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 28480, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 28480
The bar chart below shows the share of 28480 residents in each noise band. About 68% 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 28480 Compares
28480 sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how 28480's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 28449, 28435, 28436, and 28423.
Average noise level (dBA)
28480's 53.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. North Carolina as a whole averages 49.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 28480 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 32.7% of 28480 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, 29.1% of 28480's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a North Carolina average of 22.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 28480
- 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 US-74 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 6% of 28480 is under tree cover (lighter than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Wilmington International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
