Noise Levels in Allwood, Clifton, NJ | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Allwood
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,418
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
47% of Allwood residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Allwood 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 1,418 Allwood residents, or 46.6%, live above that level. By land area, 43.6% of Allwood is above 55 dBA.
56.4% below 55 dBA
43.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Allwood compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Allwood
Average noise levels for Allwood residents, grouped by direction from the center of Allwood. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Allwood; the lowest is in northern Allwood, where just 13% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Allwood
64.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Allwood
60.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Allwood
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Allwood sounds about 145% louder than in northern Allwood, a 12.9 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 Nj 3 do you need to be?
Nj 3 produces an estimated 76 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
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 22% of Allwood sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 46% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Newark Liberty International (EWR) sits south of Allwood. 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Allwood, 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 Allwood
The bar chart below shows the share of Allwood residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 28% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Allwood Compares
Allwood sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Allwood's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Albion Place, Colonial Village, Athenia, and Lower Clinton Hill.
Average noise level (dBA)
Allwood's 56.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. New Jersey as a whole averages 49.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Allwood because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 46.6% of Allwood 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, 43.6% of Allwood's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Jersey average of 25.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Allwood
- 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 Nj 3 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 Allwood is under tree cover (heavier than most neighborhoods), 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. Newark Liberty International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
