Noise Levels in Crafton Heights, Pittsburgh, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Crafton Heights
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,723
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
51% of Crafton Heights residents
66 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Crafton Heights 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 1,723 Crafton Heights residents, or 50.6%, live above that level. By land area, 56.9% of Crafton Heights is above 55 dBA.
43.1% below 55 dBA
56.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Crafton Heights compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Crafton Heights
Average noise levels for Crafton Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Crafton Heights. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Crafton Heights; the lowest is in central Crafton Heights, where just 46% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Crafton Heights
58.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Crafton Heights
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Crafton Heights
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Crafton Heights
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Crafton Heights
56.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Crafton Heights sounds about 10% louder than in central Crafton Heights, a 1.4 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 66 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
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 31% of Crafton Heights sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 33% 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
Pittsburgh International (PIT) sits west of Crafton Heights. 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 Crafton Heights, 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 Crafton Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Crafton Heights residents in each noise band. About 19% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 7% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Crafton Heights Compares
Crafton Heights sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Crafton Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Sheraden, Westwood, Perry North, and Sunset Hills.
Average noise level (dBA)
Crafton Heights's 56.7 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 Crafton Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 50.6% of Crafton Heights residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 56.9% of Crafton Heights'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 Crafton Heights
- 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 31% of Crafton Heights 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. Pittsburgh International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
