Noise Levels in Arbor Heights, Seattle, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Arbor Heights
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,842
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
37% of Arbor Heights residents
59 dBA
Loudest residential point
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Arbor Heights 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 1,842 Arbor Heights residents, or 37.4%, live above that level. By land area, 36.7% of Arbor Heights is above 55 dBA.
63.3% below 55 dBA
36.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Arbor Heights compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Arbor Heights
Average noise levels for Arbor Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Arbor Heights. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Arbor Heights; the lowest is in southeastern Arbor Heights, where just 24% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Arbor Heights
54.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Arbor Heights
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Arbor Heights
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Arbor Heights
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Arbor Heights
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in eastern Arbor Heights sounds about 21% louder than in southeastern Arbor Heights, a 2.7 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 35TH Ave SW do you need to be?
35TH Ave SW produces an estimated 57 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
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 34% of Arbor Heights sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 42% 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 southeast of Arbor Heights. 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 Arbor Heights, 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 Arbor Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Arbor Heights residents in each noise band. About 67% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Arbor Heights Compares
Arbor Heights sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Arbor Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with South Delridge, Highland Park, Fauntleroy, and North Delridge.
Average noise level (dBA)
Arbor Heights's 52.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Arbor Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 37.4% of Arbor Heights 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, 36.7% of Arbor Heights'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 Arbor Heights
- 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 35TH Ave SW 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 34% of Arbor Heights 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. Seattle-Tacoma International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
