Noise Levels in Harbordale, Fort Lauderdale, FL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Harbordale
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,383
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
39% of Harbordale residents
63 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Harbordale 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 1,383 Harbordale residents, or 38.9%, live above that level. By land area, 42.6% of Harbordale is above 55 dBA.
57.4% below 55 dBA
42.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Harbordale compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Harbordale
Average noise levels for Harbordale residents, grouped by direction from the center of Harbordale. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Harbordale; the lowest is in southern Harbordale, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Harbordale
57.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Harbordale
55.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Harbordale
54.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Harbordale
54.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Harbordale
52.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Harbordale sounds about 45% louder than in southern Harbordale, a 5.4 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 63 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
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 6% of Harbordale sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 68% 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
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL) sits southwest of Harbordale. 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 Harbordale, 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 Harbordale
The bar chart below shows the share of Harbordale residents in each noise band. About 42% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 20% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Harbordale Compares
Harbordale sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Harbordale's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Tarpon River, Durrs Homeowners, and River Oaks.
Average noise level (dBA)
Harbordale's 55.5 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Florida as a whole averages 51.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Harbordale because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 38.9% of Harbordale 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, 42.6% of Harbordale's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Florida average of 31.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Harbordale
- 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 6% of Harbordale is under tree cover (lighter 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. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
