Noise Levels in Eastway-Sheffield Park, Charlotte, NC | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Eastway-Sheffield Park
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,153
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
38% of Eastway-Sheffield Park residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Eastway-Sheffield 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 2,153 Eastway-Sheffield Park residents, or 38.4%, live above that level. By land area, 57.7% of Eastway-Sheffield Park is above 55 dBA.
42.3% below 55 dBA
57.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Eastway-Sheffield Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Eastway-Sheffield Park
Average noise levels for Eastway-Sheffield Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Eastway-Sheffield Park. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Eastway-Sheffield Park; the lowest is in western Eastway-Sheffield Park, where just 42% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Eastway-Sheffield Park
67.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern Eastway-Sheffield Park
60.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Eastway-Sheffield Park
59.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Eastway-Sheffield Park
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Eastway-Sheffield Park sounds about 80% louder than in western Eastway-Sheffield Park, a 8.5 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 Ns-923 do you need to be?
Ns-923 produces an estimated 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 33% of Eastway-Sheffield Park sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 42% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) sits west of Eastway-Sheffield 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 Eastway-Sheffield Park, 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 Eastway-Sheffield Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Eastway-Sheffield Park residents in each noise band. About 46% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 30% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Eastway-Sheffield Park Compares
Eastway-Sheffield Park sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Eastway-Sheffield Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Eastland-Wilora Lake, Marlwood, Hickory Grove, and Elizabeth.
Average noise level (dBA)
Eastway-Sheffield Park's 55.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. North Carolina as a whole averages 49.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Eastway-Sheffield Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 38.4% of Eastway-Sheffield Park 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, 57.7% of Eastway-Sheffield Park's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a North Carolina average of 22.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Eastway-Sheffield 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 Ns-923 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 33% of Eastway-Sheffield Park is under tree cover (much heavier 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Charlotte/Douglas International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
