Noise Levels in Far Westside, Syracuse, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Far Westside
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,931
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
39% of Far Westside residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Far Westside 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 2,931 Far Westside residents, or 38.9%, live above that level. By land area, 39.9% of Far Westside is above 55 dBA.
60.1% below 55 dBA
39.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Far Westside compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Far Westside
Average noise levels for Far Westside residents, grouped by direction from the center of Far Westside. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Far Westside; the lowest is in southern Far Westside, where just 18% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Far Westside
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Far Westside
56.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Far Westside
55.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Far Westside
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Far Westside
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Far Westside sounds about 49% louder than in southern Far Westside, a 5.8 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 Avery Ave do you need to be?
Avery Ave produces an estimated 60 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
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 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 38% of Far Westside 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.
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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Far Westside. 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
Syracuse Hancock International (SYR) sits northeast of Far Westside. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Far Westside, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Far Westside
The bar chart below shows the share of Far Westside residents in each noise band. About 50% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 7% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Far Westside Compares
Far Westside sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Far Westside's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Near Northeast, Northside, University Hill, and North Valley.
Average noise level (dBA)
Far Westside's 54.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Far Westside because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 38.9% of Far Westside 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, 39.9% of Far Westside's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Far Westside
- 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 Avery Ave 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 38% of Far Westside 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. Syracuse Hancock International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
