Noise Levels in Berryville, VA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Berryville
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,579
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
22% of Berryville residents
89 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Berryville 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 1,579 Berryville residents, or 22.2%, live above that level. By land area, 25.3% of Berryville is above 55 dBA.
74.7% below 55 dBA
25.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Berryville compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Berryville
Average noise levels for Berryville residents, grouped by direction from the center of Berryville. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Berryville; the lowest is in western Berryville, where just 5% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Berryville
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Berryville
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Berryville
52.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Berryville
50.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western Berryville
49.7 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southern Berryville sounds about 101% louder than in western Berryville, a 10.1 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 89 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 office to normal conversation.
At source
89 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
165 ft
77 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
660 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
¼ mile
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
½ mile
49 dBA
Quiet office
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 20% of Berryville sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 19% 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 Berryville. 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 Berryville
The bar chart below shows the share of Berryville residents in each noise band. About 66% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 4% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Berryville Compares
Berryville sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Berryville's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Round Hill, Stephenson, Lovettsville, and Marshall.
Average noise level (dBA)
Berryville's 51.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Virginia as a whole averages 52.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Berryville because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.2% of Berryville 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, 25.3% of Berryville'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 Berryville
- 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 20% of Berryville is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is pasture / hay. 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.
