Noise Levels in Downtown Grand Forks, Grand Forks, ND | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Downtown Grand Forks
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,141
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
39% of Downtown Grand Forks residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Downtown Grand Forks 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 1,141 Downtown Grand Forks residents, or 39.2%, live above that level. By land area, 46.8% of Downtown Grand Forks is above 55 dBA.
53.2% below 55 dBA
46.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Downtown Grand Forks compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Downtown Grand Forks
Average noise levels for Downtown Grand Forks residents, grouped by direction from the center of Downtown Grand Forks. The highest population-weighted average is in western Downtown Grand Forks; the lowest is in southern Downtown Grand Forks, where just 22% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Western Downtown Grand Forks
68.3 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Downtown Grand Forks
57.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Downtown Grand Forks
56.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Downtown Grand Forks
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Downtown Grand Forks
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in western Downtown Grand Forks sounds about 214% louder than in southern Downtown Grand Forks, a 16.5 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 67 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 4% of Downtown Grand Forks sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 63% 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 Grand Forks. 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 Grand Forks
The bar chart below shows the share of Downtown Grand Forks residents in each noise band. About 58% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Downtown Grand Forks Compares
Downtown Grand Forks sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Downtown Grand Forks's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Washington, Downtown Fargo, Westgate, and roosevelt-fargo-nd.
Average noise level (dBA)
Downtown Grand Forks's 54.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. North Dakota as a whole averages 50.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Downtown Grand Forks because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 39.2% of Downtown Grand Forks 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, 46.8% of Downtown Grand Forks's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a North Dakota average of 11.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Downtown Grand Forks
- 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 4% of Downtown Grand Forks 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.
