Noise Levels in Cass Gilbert, Waterbury, CT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Cass Gilbert
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,345
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
37% of Cass Gilbert residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Cass Gilbert 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 1,345 Cass Gilbert residents, or 36.8%, live above that level. By land area, 60.8% of Cass Gilbert is above 55 dBA.
39.2% below 55 dBA
60.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Cass Gilbert compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Cass Gilbert
Average noise levels for Cass Gilbert residents, grouped by direction from the center of Cass Gilbert. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Cass Gilbert; the lowest is in northern Cass Gilbert, where just 57% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Cass Gilbert
65.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern Cass Gilbert
64.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Cass Gilbert
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Cass Gilbert
57.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Cass Gilbert
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Cass Gilbert sounds about 75% louder than in northern Cass Gilbert, a 8.1 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 81 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
81 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
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 27% of Cass Gilbert sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 58% 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 Cass Gilbert. 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 Cass Gilbert
The bar chart below shows the share of Cass Gilbert residents in each noise band. About 56% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 6% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Cass Gilbert Compares
Cass Gilbert sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Cass Gilbert's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Exchange Place, North Square, Walnut Orange Walsh, and Spring Glen.
Average noise level (dBA)
Cass Gilbert's 54.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Connecticut as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Cass Gilbert because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 36.8% of Cass Gilbert 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, 60.8% of Cass Gilbert's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Connecticut average of 27.3% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Cass Gilbert
- 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 27% of Cass Gilbert 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.
