Noise Levels in Barboursville, VA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
47 dBA
Average noise across Barboursville
Quiet office
427
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
7% of Barboursville residents
109 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Barboursville 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 427 Barboursville residents, or 7.2%, live above that level. By land area, 16.5% of Barboursville is above 55 dBA.
83.5% below 55 dBA
16.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Barboursville compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Barboursville
Average noise levels for Barboursville residents, grouped by direction from the center of Barboursville. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Barboursville; the lowest is in northern Barboursville, where just 5% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Barboursville
73.4 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southeastern Barboursville
66.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northeastern Barboursville
58.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Barboursville
52.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Barboursville
49.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in eastern Barboursville sounds about 431% louder than in northern Barboursville, a 24.1 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 109 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 highway traffic 50 ft away.
At source
109 dBA
Power saw
330 ft
86 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
660 ft
78 dBA
City bus interior
¼ mile
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
½ mile
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 60% of Barboursville sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 2% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Barboursville. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Barboursville
The bar chart below shows the share of Barboursville residents in each noise band. About 94% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Barboursville Compares
Barboursville sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Barboursville's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Earlysville, Stanardsville, Gordonsville, and Hollymead.
Average noise level (dBA)
Barboursville's 46.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Virginia as a whole averages 52.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Barboursville because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 7.2% of Barboursville 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, 16.5% of Barboursville's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Virginia average of 30.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Barboursville
- 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 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 60% of Barboursville is under tree cover (heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is deciduous forest. 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.
