Noise Levels in Beechhurst, Queens, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Beechhurst
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,346
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
67% of Beechhurst residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Beechhurst 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 4,346 Beechhurst residents, or 67.2%, live above that level. By land area, 79.6% of Beechhurst is above 55 dBA.
20.4% below 55 dBA
79.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Beechhurst compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Beechhurst
Average noise levels for Beechhurst residents, grouped by direction from the center of Beechhurst. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Beechhurst; the lowest is in northwestern Beechhurst, where just 44% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Beechhurst
69.0 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southeastern Beechhurst
62.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern Beechhurst
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Beechhurst
56.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Beechhurst
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Beechhurst sounds about 166% louder than in northwestern Beechhurst, a 14.1 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 Cross Island Pkwy do you need to be?
Cross Island Pkwy produces an estimated 77 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 10% of Beechhurst sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Laguardia (LGA) sits west of Beechhurst. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Beechhurst, particularly to the east, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Beechhurst
The bar chart below shows the share of Beechhurst residents in each noise band. About 23% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 13% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Beechhurst Compares
Beechhurst sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Beechhurst's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with College Point, East Elmhurst, Cambria Heights, and Downtown Brooklyn.
Average noise level (dBA)
Beechhurst's 57.3 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 Beechhurst because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 67.2% of Beechhurst 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, 79.6% of Beechhurst'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 Beechhurst
- 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 Cross Island 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 10% of Beechhurst is under tree cover (lighter than most neighborhoods), 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. Laguardia's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
