Noise Levels in Emsworth, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
61 dBA
Average noise across Emsworth
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,896
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
87% of Emsworth residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Emsworth 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 1,896 Emsworth residents, or 87.4%, live above that level. By land area, 83.5% of Emsworth is above 55 dBA.
16.5% below 55 dBA
83.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Emsworth compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Emsworth
Average noise levels for Emsworth residents, grouped by direction from the center of Emsworth. Southern Emsworth carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern Emsworth carries the lowest. Just 81% of residents in Eastern Emsworth live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Southern Emsworth.
Central Emsworth
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern Emsworth
58.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Emsworth
66.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Western Emsworth
59.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Emsworth sounds about 68% louder than Eastern Emsworth to the human ear, a 7.5 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 Ohio River BL do you need to be?
Ohio River BL 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
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 30% of Emsworth sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 36% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Emsworth. 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.
Airport Noise
Pittsburgh International (PIT) sits west of Emsworth. 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 Emsworth, 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 Emsworth
The bar chart below shows the share of Emsworth residents in each noise band. About 5% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 47% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Emsworth Compares
Emsworth sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Emsworth's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Etna, Ben Avon, Crescent, and Presto.
Average noise level (dBA)
Emsworth's 61.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Emsworth because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 87.4% of Emsworth 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, 83.5% of Emsworth'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 Emsworth
- 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 Ohio River BL 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 30% of Emsworth is under tree cover (about average for cities), 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.
