Noise Levels in Bull Mountain, Tigard, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Bull Mountain
Quiet office to normal conversation
8,487
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
32% of Bull Mountain residents
70 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Bull Mountain 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 8,487 Bull Mountain residents, or 32.4%, live above that level. By land area, 38.3% of Bull Mountain is above 55 dBA.
61.7% below 55 dBA
38.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Bull Mountain compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Bull Mountain
Average noise levels for Bull Mountain residents, grouped by direction from the center of Bull Mountain. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Bull Mountain; the lowest is in western Bull Mountain, where just 20% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Bull Mountain
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Bull Mountain
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Bull Mountain
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Bull Mountain
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Bull Mountain
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Bull Mountain sounds about 49% louder than in western Bull Mountain, a 5.8 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 Oregon Route 99W do you need to be?
Oregon Route 99W produces an estimated 67 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 30% of Bull Mountain sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 43% 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 Bull Mountain. 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.
Airport Noise
Portland International (PDX) sits northeast of Bull Mountain. The U.S. Department of Transportation models aviation noise around this airport from federal traffic data, 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Bull Mountain, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Bull Mountain
The bar chart below shows the share of Bull Mountain residents in each noise band. About 73% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Bull Mountain Compares
Bull Mountain sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Bull Mountain's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Cooper Mountain-Aloha North, Metzger, Sommerset West-Elmonica North, and Powellhurst-Gilbert.
Average noise level (dBA)
Bull Mountain's 53.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Bull Mountain because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 32.4% of Bull Mountain residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 38.3% of Bull Mountain's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Oregon average of 24.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Bull Mountain
- 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 Oregon Route 99W 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 30% of Bull Mountain is under tree cover (heavier 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. Portland International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
