Noise Levels in Central City, Salt Lake City, UT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Central City
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,462
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
47% of Central City residents
74 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Central City 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 4,462 Central City residents, or 46.7%, live above that level. By land area, 54.6% of Central City is above 55 dBA.
45.4% below 55 dBA
54.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Central City compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Central City
Average noise levels for Central City residents, grouped by direction from the center of Central City. Western Central City carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern Central City carries the lowest. Just 34% of residents in Northern Central City live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Western Central City.
Central Central City
58.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Central City
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Central City
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Central City
61.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Central City
63.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Central City sounds about 69% louder than Northern Central City to the human ear, a 7.6 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 74 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
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 3% of Central City sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 73% 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
Salt Lake City International (SLC) sits west of Central City. 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 Central City, 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 Central City
The bar chart below shows the share of Central City residents in each noise band. About 29% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 43% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Central City Compares
Central City sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Central City's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Capitol Hill, Rose Park, Glendale, and East Bench.
Average noise level (dBA)
Central City's 58.9 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Utah as a whole averages 53.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Central City because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 46.7% of Central City 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, 54.6% of Central City's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Utah average of 25.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Central City
- 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 3% of Central City is under tree cover (much lighter 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Salt Lake City International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
