Noise Levels in Cambria Heights, Queens, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Cambria Heights
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,488
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
60% of Cambria Heights residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Cambria Heights 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 3,488 Cambria Heights residents, or 60.4%, live above that level. By land area, 63.8% of Cambria Heights is above 55 dBA.
36.2% below 55 dBA
63.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Cambria Heights compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Cambria Heights
Average noise levels for Cambria Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Cambria Heights. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Cambria Heights; the lowest is in central Cambria Heights, where just 52% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Cambria Heights
67.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern Cambria Heights
66.3 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Western Cambria Heights
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Cambria Heights
57.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Cambria Heights
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Cambria Heights sounds about 111% louder than in central Cambria Heights, a 10.8 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 Cross Island Pkwy do you need to be?
Cross Island Pkwy produces an estimated 62 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
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 10% of Cambria Heights sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 62% 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
John F Kennedy International (JFK) sits southwest of Cambria Heights. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Cambria Heights, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Cambria Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Cambria Heights residents in each noise band. About 29% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 10% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Cambria Heights Compares
Cambria Heights sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Cambria Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with East Elmhurst, Mott Section, Beechhurst, and College Point.
Average noise level (dBA)
Cambria Heights's 56.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Cambria Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 60.4% of Cambria Heights 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, 63.8% of Cambria Heights'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 Cambria Heights
- 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 Cambria Heights 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. John F Kennedy International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
