Noise Levels in 97018, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across 97018
Quiet office to normal conversation
600
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
37% of 97018 residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 97018 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 600 97018 residents, or 37.4%, live above that level. By land area, 38.9% of 97018 is above 55 dBA.
61.1% below 55 dBA
38.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 97018 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 97018
Average noise levels for 97018 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 97018. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 97018; the lowest is in southern 97018, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 97018
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern 97018
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 97018
53.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 97018
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 97018 sounds about 30% louder than in southern 97018, a 3.8 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 Route 30 do you need to be?
US Route 30 produces an estimated 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 22% of 97018 sits under tree canopy (about average for zip codes) and roughly 43% 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 97018. 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 97018
The bar chart below shows the share of 97018 residents in each noise band. About 57% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 97018 Compares
97018 sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how 97018's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 97054, 97053, 97064, and 97231.
Average noise level (dBA)
97018's 54.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 97018 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 37.4% of 97018 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, 38.9% of 97018's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Oregon average of 24.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 97018
- 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 Route 30 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 22% of 97018 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.
