Noise Levels in Capitol Heights, MD | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Capitol Heights
Quiet office to normal conversation
5,185
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
25% of Capitol Heights residents
92 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Capitol 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 5,185 Capitol Heights residents, or 25.1%, live above that level. By land area, 34.0% of Capitol Heights is above 55 dBA.
66.0% below 55 dBA
34.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Capitol Heights compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Capitol Heights
Average noise levels for Capitol Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Capitol Heights. Western Capitol Heights carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Capitol Heights carries the lowest. Just 17% of residents in Southern Capitol Heights live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Western Capitol Heights.
Central Capitol Heights
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Capitol Heights
52.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Capitol Heights
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Capitol Heights
50.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western Capitol Heights
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Capitol Heights sounds about 18% louder than Southern Capitol Heights to the human ear, a 2.4 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 I-95 do you need to be?
I-95 produces an estimated 79 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
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 42% of Capitol Heights sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 32% 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 Capitol Heights. 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
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl (DCA) sits west of Capitol 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Capitol Heights, 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 Capitol Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Capitol Heights residents in each noise band. About 76% 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 Capitol Heights Compares
Capitol Heights sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Capitol Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Suitland, Landover, District Heights, and Camp Springs.
Average noise level (dBA)
Capitol Heights's 52.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Maryland as a whole averages 52.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Capitol Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.1% of Capitol Heights 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, 34.0% of Capitol Heights's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maryland average of 32.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Capitol 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 I-95 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 Capitol Heights is under tree cover (heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-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. Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
