Noise Levels in 84059, UT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
50 dBA
Average noise across 84059
Quiet office
2,119
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
20% of 84059 residents
94 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 84059 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 2,119 84059 residents, or 19.7%, live above that level. By land area, 21.4% of 84059 is above 55 dBA.
78.6% below 55 dBA
21.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 84059 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 84059
Average noise levels for 84059 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 84059. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern 84059; the lowest is in southwestern 84059, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern 84059
58.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern 84059
58.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern 84059
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern 84059
51.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern 84059
49.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northeastern 84059 sounds about 93% louder than in southwestern 84059, a 9.5 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 94 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 office to normal conversation.
At source
94 dBA
Power saw
165 ft
79 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
660 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
¼ mile
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
½ mile
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 1% of 84059 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 56% 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 84059. 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.
Airport Noise
Provo Municipal (PVU) sits south of 84059. 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 84059, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 84059
The bar chart below shows the share of 84059 residents in each noise band. About 67% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 84059 Compares
84059 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 84059's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 84042, 84004, 84664, and 84653.
Average noise level (dBA)
84059's 49.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Utah as a whole averages 53.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 84059 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 19.7% of 84059 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, 21.4% of 84059's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Utah average of 25.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 84059
- 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 1% of 84059 is under tree cover (much 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. Provo Municipal's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
