Noise Levels in Gresham-Southwest, Gresham, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Gresham-Southwest
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,325
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of Gresham-Southwest residents
64 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Gresham-Southwest 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 1,325 Gresham-Southwest residents, or 25.6%, live above that level. By land area, 30.8% of Gresham-Southwest is above 55 dBA.
69.2% below 55 dBA
30.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Gresham-Southwest compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Gresham-Southwest
Average noise levels for Gresham-Southwest residents, grouped by direction from the center of Gresham-Southwest. The highest population-weighted average is in central Gresham-Southwest; the lowest is in northern Gresham-Southwest, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Central Gresham-Southwest
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Gresham-Southwest
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Gresham-Southwest
52.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Gresham-Southwest
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Gresham-Southwest
50.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in central Gresham-Southwest sounds about 27% louder than in northern Gresham-Southwest, a 3.5 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 64 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
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 23% of Gresham-Southwest sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 41% 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-Southwest. 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-Southwest, 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-Southwest
The bar chart below shows the share of Gresham-Southwest residents in each noise band. About 88% 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 Gresham-Southwest Compares
Gresham-Southwest sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Gresham-Southwest's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Mount Scott, Gresham-Northeast, Gresham-Gresham Butte, and Foster-Powell.
Average noise level (dBA)
Gresham-Southwest's 52.2 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-Southwest because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.6% of Gresham-Southwest 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, 30.8% of Gresham-Southwest'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-Southwest
- 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 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 23% of Gresham-Southwest 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.
