Noise Levels in Fort Washington, MD | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map

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 7,213 Fort Washington residents, or 19.5%, live above that level. By land area, 27.0% of Fort Washington is above 55 dBA.

See how noise in Fort Washington compares to similar-sized cities.

Noise by Part of Fort Washington

Average noise levels for Fort Washington residents, grouped by direction from the center of Fort Washington. The highest population-weighted average is in central Fort Washington; the lowest is in western Fort Washington, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.

To the human ear, noise in central Fort Washington sounds about 116% louder than in western Fort Washington, a 11.1 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.

Airport Noise

Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl (DCA) sits north of Fort Washington. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Fort Washington, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.

How Noise Is Distributed Across Fort Washington

The bar chart below shows the share of Fort Washington residents in each noise band. About 87% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.

How Fort Washington Compares

Fort Washington sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Fort Washington's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Clinton, College Park, District Heights, and Hyattsville.

Average noise level (dBA)

Fort Washington's 51.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Maryland as a whole averages 52.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Fort Washington because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.

Share of residents above 55 dBA

About 19.5% of Fort Washington residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 27.0% of Fort Washington's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maryland average of 32.9% and a national average of 28.1%.

What This Means if You're Moving to Fort Washington

• 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-495 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 47% of Fort Washington is under tree cover (heavier than most 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. Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.

Sources & Methodology