Noise Levels in Barclay Downs, Charlotte, NC | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Barclay Downs
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,738
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
30% of Barclay Downs residents
71 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Barclay Downs 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 1,738 Barclay Downs residents, or 30.1%, live above that level. By land area, 26.1% of Barclay Downs is above 55 dBA.
73.9% below 55 dBA
26.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Barclay Downs compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Barclay Downs
Average noise levels for Barclay Downs residents, grouped by direction from the center of Barclay Downs. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Barclay Downs; the lowest is in southwestern Barclay Downs, where just 28% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southern Barclay Downs
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Barclay Downs
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Barclay Downs
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Barclay Downs
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Barclay Downs
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Barclay Downs sounds about 14% louder than in southwestern Barclay Downs, a 1.9 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 SR-3814 do you need to be?
SR-3814 produces an estimated 63 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
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 42% of Barclay Downs sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 34% 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
Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) sits northwest of Barclay Downs. 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 Barclay Downs, 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 Barclay Downs
The bar chart below shows the share of Barclay Downs residents in each noise band. About 64% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Barclay Downs Compares
Barclay Downs sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Barclay Downs's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Carmel, Downtown Charlotte, Foxcroft, and Beverly Woods.
Average noise level (dBA)
Barclay Downs's 53.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. North Carolina as a whole averages 49.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Barclay Downs because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 30.1% of Barclay Downs 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, 26.1% of Barclay Downs's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a North Carolina average of 22.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Barclay Downs
- 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 SR-3814 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 42% of Barclay Downs is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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. Charlotte/Douglas International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
