Noise Levels in Grant, Salem, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Grant
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,892
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
72% of Grant residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Grant 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 3,892 Grant residents, or 71.6%, live above that level. By land area, 74.5% of Grant is above 55 dBA.
25.5% below 55 dBA
74.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Grant compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Grant
Average noise levels for Grant residents, grouped by direction from the center of Grant. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Grant; the lowest is in southeastern Grant, where just 36% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Grant
63.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Grant
61.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Grant
59.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Grant
59.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Grant
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Grant sounds about 85% louder than in southeastern Grant, a 8.9 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 Oregon Route 99EB do you need to be?
Oregon Route 99EB produces an estimated 68 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
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 16% of Grant sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 59% 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 Grant. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Grant
The bar chart below shows the share of Grant residents in each noise band. About 21% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 19% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Grant Compares
Grant sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Grant's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Oak Park, Southeast Mill Creek, East Albany, and North Albany.
Average noise level (dBA)
Grant's 57.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Grant because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 71.6% of Grant 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, 74.5% of Grant's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Oregon average of 24.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Grant
- 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 Oregon Route 99EB 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 16% of Grant is under tree cover (about average for 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.
