Noise Levels in Central Business District, Newark, NJ | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Central Business District
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,302
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
70% of Central Business District residents
92 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Central Business District 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 4,302 Central Business District residents, or 70.2%, live above that level. By land area, 80.8% of Central Business District is above 55 dBA.
19.2% below 55 dBA
80.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Central Business District compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Central Business District
Average noise levels for Central Business District residents, grouped by direction from the center of Central Business District. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Central Business District; the lowest is in southwestern Central Business District, where just 72% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Central Business District
70.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Central Business District
67.5 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southern Central Business District
64.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Central Business District
63.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southwestern Central Business District
62.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Central Business District sounds about 83% louder than in southwestern Central Business District, 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 University Ave do you need to be?
University Ave 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
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 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 1% of Central Business District sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 84% 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 Central Business District. 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
Newark Liberty International (EWR) sits south of Central Business District. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Central Business District, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Central Business District
The bar chart below shows the share of Central Business District residents in each noise band. About 21% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 55% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Central Business District Compares
Central Business District sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Central Business District's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Mount Pleasant-Lower Broadway, Hutton Park, Richfield, and Overlook.
Average noise level (dBA)
Central Business District's 59.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. New Jersey as a whole averages 49.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Central Business District because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 70.2% of Central Business District 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, 80.8% of Central Business District's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Jersey average of 25.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Central Business District
- 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 University Ave 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 1% of Central Business District is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is high-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. Newark Liberty International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
