Noise Levels in Fircrest, Vancouver, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Fircrest
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,912
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of Fircrest residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Fircrest 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 1,912 Fircrest residents, or 26.1%, live above that level. By land area, 44.1% of Fircrest is above 55 dBA.
55.9% below 55 dBA
44.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Fircrest compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Fircrest
Average noise levels for Fircrest residents, grouped by direction from the center of Fircrest. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Fircrest; the lowest is in southeastern Fircrest, where just 25% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Fircrest
65.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southwestern Fircrest
65.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Fircrest
59.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Fircrest
55.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Fircrest
52.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Fircrest sounds about 141% louder than in southeastern Fircrest, a 12.7 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 I-205 do you need to be?
I-205 produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 22% of Fircrest sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 50% 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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Airport Noise
Portland International (PDX) sits southwest of Fircrest. 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 Fircrest, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Fircrest
The bar chart below shows the share of Fircrest residents in each noise band. About 55% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 18% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Fircrest Compares
Fircrest sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Fircrest's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Landover-Sharmel, Fishers Landing East, Bagley Downs, and Northeast Hazel Dell.
Average noise level (dBA)
Fircrest's 53.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Fircrest because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 26.1% of Fircrest 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, 44.1% of Fircrest's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Washington average of 27.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Fircrest
- 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 I-205 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 22% of Fircrest is under tree cover (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. Portland International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
