Noise Levels in City Center East, Philadelphia, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
62 dBA
Average noise across City Center East
Busy restaurant
12,791
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
99% of City Center East residents
83 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across City Center East 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 12,791 City Center East residents, or 99.1%, live above that level. By land area, 98.4% of City Center East is above 55 dBA.
1.6% below 55 dBA
98.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in City Center East compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of City Center East
Average noise levels for City Center East residents, grouped by direction from the center of City Center East. Northern City Center East carries the highest population-weighted average; Western City Center East carries the lowest. Just 100% of residents in Western City Center East live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Northern City Center East.
Central City Center East
61.7 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern City Center East
62.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern City Center East
71.2 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southern City Center East
62.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western City Center East
61.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern City Center East sounds about 95% louder than Western City Center East to the human ear, a 9.6 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 G706 Fourth St do you need to be?
G706 Fourth St produces an estimated 61 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
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
46 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
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 City Center East sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 82% 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 City Center East. 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
Philadelphia International (PHL) sits southwest of City Center East. 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 City Center East, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across City Center East
The bar chart below shows the share of City Center East residents in each noise band. About 0% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 66% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How City Center East Compares
City Center East sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how City Center East's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Point Breeze-Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Wharton-Hawthorne-Bella Vista, and Rittenhouse Square.
Average noise level (dBA)
City Center East's 62.4 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than City Center East because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 99.1% of City Center East 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, 98.4% of City Center East's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Pennsylvania average of 33.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to City Center East
- 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 G706 Fourth St 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 City Center East 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. Philadelphia International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
