Noise Levels in 98354, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across 98354
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,337
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
18% of 98354 residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 98354 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 1,337 98354 residents, or 17.9%, live above that level. By land area, 34.6% of 98354 is above 55 dBA.
65.4% below 55 dBA
34.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 98354 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 98354
Average noise levels for 98354 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 98354. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 98354; the lowest is in eastern 98354, where just 10% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 98354
62.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western 98354
60.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern 98354
53.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 98354
51.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 98354
50.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 98354 sounds about 119% louder than in eastern 98354, a 11.3 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 I-5 do you need to be?
I-5 produces an estimated 79 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
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 26% of 98354 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.
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Airport Noise
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) sits north of 98354. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 98354, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 98354
The bar chart below shows the share of 98354 residents in each noise band. About 92% 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 98354 Compares
98354 sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how 98354's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 98403, 98047, 98402, and 98418.
Average noise level (dBA)
98354's 51.5 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 98354 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 17.9% of 98354 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, 34.6% of 98354's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Washington average of 27.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 98354
- 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 I-5 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 26% of 98354 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Seattle-Tacoma International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
