Noise Levels in Douglas Park, Arlington, VA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Douglas Park
Quiet office to normal conversation
4,094
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
42% of Douglas Park residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Douglas Park 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 4,094 Douglas Park residents, or 42.5%, live above that level. By land area, 55.3% of Douglas Park is above 55 dBA.
44.7% below 55 dBA
55.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Douglas Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Douglas Park
Average noise levels for Douglas Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Douglas Park. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Douglas Park; the lowest is in western Douglas Park, where just 28% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Douglas Park
57.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Douglas Park
57.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Douglas Park
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Douglas Park
56.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Douglas Park
55.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in eastern Douglas Park sounds about 16% louder than in western Douglas Park, a 2.2 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 S Walter Reed Dr do you need to be?
S Walter Reed Dr produces an estimated 62 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
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
39 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 25% of Douglas Park sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 46% 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
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl (DCA) sits east of Douglas Park. 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 Douglas Park, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Douglas Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Douglas Park residents in each noise band. About 36% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Douglas Park Compares
Douglas Park sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Douglas Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Fairlington-Shirlington, North Ridge Rosemont, Clarendon, and Ballston-Virginia Square.
Average noise level (dBA)
Douglas Park's 55.5 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Virginia as a whole averages 52.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Douglas Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 42.5% of Douglas Park 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, 55.3% of Douglas Park's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Virginia average of 30.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Douglas Park
- 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 S Walter Reed Dr 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 25% of Douglas Park 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. Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
