Noise Levels in Gresham-Kelly Creek, Gresham, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Gresham-Kelly Creek
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,370
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
37% of Gresham-Kelly Creek residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Gresham-Kelly Creek 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 2,370 Gresham-Kelly Creek residents, or 36.6%, live above that level. By land area, 37.6% of Gresham-Kelly Creek is above 55 dBA.
62.4% below 55 dBA
37.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Gresham-Kelly Creek compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Gresham-Kelly Creek
Average noise levels for Gresham-Kelly Creek residents, grouped by direction from the center of Gresham-Kelly Creek. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Gresham-Kelly Creek; the lowest is in southeastern Gresham-Kelly Creek, where just 22% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Gresham-Kelly Creek
58.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Gresham-Kelly Creek
57.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Gresham-Kelly Creek
56.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Gresham-Kelly Creek
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Gresham-Kelly Creek
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Gresham-Kelly Creek sounds about 48% louder than in southeastern Gresham-Kelly Creek, a 5.7 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 US Route 26 do you need to be?
US Route 26 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
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 22% of Gresham-Kelly Creek sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 53% 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 northwest of Gresham-Kelly Creek. 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 Gresham-Kelly Creek, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Gresham-Kelly Creek
The bar chart below shows the share of Gresham-Kelly Creek residents in each noise band. About 61% 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 Gresham-Kelly Creek Compares
Gresham-Kelly Creek sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Gresham-Kelly Creek's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Gresham-Northwest, Gresham-North Gresham, Gresham-North Central, and Gresham-Southwest.
Average noise level (dBA)
Gresham-Kelly Creek's 54.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Gresham-Kelly Creek because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 36.6% of Gresham-Kelly Creek 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, 37.6% of Gresham-Kelly Creek'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 Gresham-Kelly Creek
- 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 US Route 26 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 Gresham-Kelly Creek 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 northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
