Noise Levels in Downtown Fostoria, Fostoria, OH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Downtown Fostoria
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,976
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
77% of Downtown Fostoria residents
110 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Downtown Fostoria 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 1,976 Downtown Fostoria residents, or 76.9%, live above that level. By land area, 83.8% of Downtown Fostoria is above 55 dBA.
16.2% below 55 dBA
83.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Downtown Fostoria compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Downtown Fostoria
Average noise levels for Downtown Fostoria residents, grouped by direction from the center of Downtown Fostoria. Eastern Downtown Fostoria carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Downtown Fostoria carries the lowest. Just 0% of residents in Western Downtown Fostoria live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Eastern Downtown Fostoria.
Central Downtown Fostoria
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Downtown Fostoria
62.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Downtown Fostoria
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Downtown Fostoria
61.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Downtown Fostoria
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Downtown Fostoria sounds about 82% louder than Western Downtown Fostoria to the human ear, a 8.6 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 110 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 city bus interior.
At source
110 dBA
Power saw
330 ft
88 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
660 ft
80 dBA
City bus interior
¼ mile
72 dBA
City bus interior
½ mile
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 6% of Downtown Fostoria sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 49% 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 Downtown Fostoria. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Downtown Fostoria
The bar chart below shows the share of Downtown Fostoria residents in each noise band. About 18% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 32% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Downtown Fostoria Compares
Downtown Fostoria sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Downtown Fostoria's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with fort-ball-district-tiffin-oh, downtown-tiffin-historic-district-tiffin-oh, Findlay Downtown Historic District, and Brookside.
Average noise level (dBA)
Downtown Fostoria's 59.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Ohio as a whole averages 51.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Downtown Fostoria because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 76.9% of Downtown Fostoria 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, 83.8% of Downtown Fostoria's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Ohio average of 26.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Downtown Fostoria
- 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 6% of Downtown Fostoria is under tree cover (lighter 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.
