Noise Levels in Caufield, Oregon City, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Caufield
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,279
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
40% of Caufield residents
66 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Caufield 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 1,279 Caufield residents, or 39.6%, live above that level. By land area, 44.8% of Caufield is above 55 dBA.
55.2% below 55 dBA
44.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Caufield compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Caufield
Average noise levels for Caufield residents, grouped by direction from the center of Caufield. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Caufield; the lowest is in southern Caufield, where just 26% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Caufield
55.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Caufield
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Caufield
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Caufield
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Caufield sounds about 9% louder than in southern Caufield, a 1.3 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 213 do you need to be?
Oregon Route 213 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
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 18% of Caufield sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 48% 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
Portland International (PDX) sits north of Caufield. 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 Caufield, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Caufield
The bar chart below shows the share of Caufield residents in each noise band. About 67% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Caufield Compares
Caufield sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Caufield's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Gaffney Lane, Barclay Hills, Hillendale, and Hidden Springs.
Average noise level (dBA)
Caufield's 54.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Caufield because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 39.6% of Caufield 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, 44.8% of Caufield'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 Caufield
- 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 213 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 18% of Caufield is under tree cover (about average for 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 north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
