Noise Levels in Firestone-Garden Park, Charlotte, NC | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Firestone-Garden Park
Quiet office
1,069
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
19% of Firestone-Garden Park residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Firestone-Garden 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 1,069 Firestone-Garden Park residents, or 19.2%, live above that level. By land area, 26.0% of Firestone-Garden Park is above 55 dBA.
74.0% below 55 dBA
26.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Firestone-Garden Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Firestone-Garden Park
Average noise levels for Firestone-Garden Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Firestone-Garden Park. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Firestone-Garden Park; the lowest is in central Firestone-Garden Park, where just 15% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Firestone-Garden Park
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Firestone-Garden Park
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Firestone-Garden Park
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Firestone-Garden Park
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Firestone-Garden Park
50.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in eastern Firestone-Garden Park sounds about 113% louder than in central Firestone-Garden Park, a 10.9 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-85 do you need to be?
I-85 produces an estimated 79 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
66 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 37% of Firestone-Garden Park sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 25% 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
Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) sits southwest of Firestone-Garden 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Firestone-Garden Park, 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 Firestone-Garden Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Firestone-Garden Park residents in each noise band. About 90% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Firestone-Garden Park Compares
Firestone-Garden Park sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Firestone-Garden Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Thomasboro-Hoskins, Oakdale South, Nevin Community, and Derita-Statesville.
Average noise level (dBA)
Firestone-Garden Park's 50.9 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. North Carolina as a whole averages 49.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Firestone-Garden Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 19.2% of Firestone-Garden 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, 26.0% of Firestone-Garden 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 Firestone-Garden 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 I-85 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 37% of Firestone-Garden Park is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), 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. Charlotte/Douglas International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
