Noise Levels in 44506, OH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across 44506
Quiet office to normal conversation
968
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
51% of 44506 residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 44506 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 968 44506 residents, or 51.0%, live above that level. By land area, 55.3% of 44506 is above 55 dBA.
44.7% below 55 dBA
55.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 44506 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 44506
Average noise levels for 44506 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 44506. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern 44506; the lowest is in central 44506, where just 57% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern 44506
62.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern 44506
60.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central 44506
56.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southeastern 44506 sounds about 47% louder than in central 44506, a 5.6 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 East River Crossing do you need to be?
East River Crossing produces an estimated 70 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
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 37% of 44506 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 23% 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 44506. 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 44506
The bar chart below shows the share of 44506 residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 44506 Compares
44506 sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how 44506's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 44503, 44510, 44443, and 44436.
Average noise level (dBA)
44506's 54.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Ohio as a whole averages 51.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 44506 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 51.0% of 44506 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 55.3% of 44506's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Ohio average of 26.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 44506
- 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 East River Crossing 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 37% of 44506 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.
