Noise Levels in Amity, New Haven, CT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Amity
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,699
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
37% of Amity residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Amity 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 1,699 Amity residents, or 37.3%, live above that level. By land area, 45.8% of Amity is above 55 dBA.
54.2% below 55 dBA
45.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Amity compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Amity
Average noise levels for Amity residents, grouped by direction from the center of Amity. The highest population-weighted average is in western Amity; the lowest is in southern Amity, where just 38% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Western Amity
64.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Amity
62.7 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Amity
59.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Amity
58.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Amity
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in western Amity sounds about 71% louder than in southern Amity, a 7.7 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 Wilbur Cross Pkwy do you need to be?
Wilbur Cross Pkwy produces an estimated 74 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
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 44% of Amity sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 30% 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
Tweed/New Haven (HVN) sits southeast of Amity. 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 Amity, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Amity
The bar chart below shows the share of Amity residents in each noise band. About 51% 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 Amity Compares
Amity sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Amity's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with West Rock, Prospect Hill, Pine Rock, and Edgewood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Amity's 55.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Connecticut as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Amity because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 37.3% of Amity 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, 45.8% of Amity's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Connecticut average of 27.3% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Amity
- 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 Wilbur Cross Pkwy 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 44% of Amity is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), 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. Tweed/New Haven's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
