Noise Levels in Atlantic Beach, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Atlantic Beach
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,090
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
61% of Atlantic Beach residents
70 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Atlantic Beach 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 1,090 Atlantic Beach residents, or 60.7%, live above that level. By land area, 57.8% of Atlantic Beach is above 55 dBA.
42.2% below 55 dBA
57.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Atlantic Beach compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Atlantic Beach
Average noise levels for Atlantic Beach residents, grouped by direction from the center of Atlantic Beach. The highest population-weighted average is in central Atlantic Beach; the lowest is in western Atlantic Beach, where just 14% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Central Atlantic Beach
54.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Atlantic Beach
52.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Atlantic Beach
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in central Atlantic Beach sounds about 26% louder than in western Atlantic Beach, a 3.3 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 Beech St do you need to be?
Beech St 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
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 9% of Atlantic Beach sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 61% 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
John F Kennedy International (JFK) sits northwest of Atlantic Beach. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Atlantic Beach, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Atlantic Beach
The bar chart below shows the share of Atlantic Beach residents in each noise band. About 40% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 14% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Atlantic Beach Compares
Atlantic Beach sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Atlantic Beach's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, Roslyn Estates, and Hewlett Harbor.
Average noise level (dBA)
Atlantic Beach's 56.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Atlantic Beach because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 60.7% of Atlantic Beach 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, 57.8% of Atlantic Beach's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Atlantic Beach
- 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 Beech St 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 9% of Atlantic Beach is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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. John F Kennedy International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
