Noise Levels in Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North, Beaverton, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
Quiet office to normal conversation
5,821
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
51% of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North 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 5,821 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North residents, or 50.6%, live above that level. By land area, 55.0% of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North is above 55 dBA.
45.0% below 55 dBA
55.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
Average noise levels for Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North residents, grouped by direction from the center of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North; the lowest is in southwestern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North, where just 40% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
64.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
63.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
60.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
56.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in eastern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North sounds about 83% louder than in southwestern Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North, a 8.7 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 US Route 26 do you need to be?
US Route 26 produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 28% of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North 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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North. 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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North. 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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North, 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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
The bar chart below shows the share of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North residents in each noise band. About 49% 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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North Compares
Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Forest Park, Five Oaks, Neighbors Southwest, and West Beaverton.
Average noise level (dBA)
Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North's 55.9 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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 50.6% of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 55.0% of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North'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 Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North
- 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 US Route 26 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 28% of Cedar Hills-Cedar Mill North is under tree cover (heavier than most neighborhoods), 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. Portland International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
