Noise Levels in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Hasbrouck Heights
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,473
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
29% of Hasbrouck Heights residents
88 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Hasbrouck Heights 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 3,473 Hasbrouck Heights residents, or 28.8%, live above that level. By land area, 35.4% of Hasbrouck Heights is above 55 dBA.
64.6% below 55 dBA
35.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Hasbrouck Heights compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Hasbrouck Heights
Average noise levels for Hasbrouck Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Hasbrouck Heights. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Hasbrouck Heights; the lowest is in northwestern Hasbrouck Heights, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Hasbrouck Heights
70.5 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern Hasbrouck Heights
64.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Hasbrouck Heights
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Hasbrouck Heights
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Hasbrouck Heights
52.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Hasbrouck Heights sounds about 261% louder than in northwestern Hasbrouck Heights, a 18.5 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 Nj 17 do you need to be?
Nj 17 produces an estimated 70 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
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 28% of Hasbrouck Heights sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 46% 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 Hasbrouck Heights. 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.
Airport Noise
Laguardia (LGA) sits southeast of Hasbrouck Heights. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Hasbrouck Heights, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Hasbrouck Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Hasbrouck Heights residents in each noise band. About 61% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 12% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Hasbrouck Heights Compares
Hasbrouck Heights sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Hasbrouck Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Saddle Brook, New Milford, Ridgefield Park, and Wallington.
Average noise level (dBA)
Hasbrouck Heights's 54.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New Jersey as a whole averages 49.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Hasbrouck Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 28.8% of Hasbrouck Heights 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, 35.4% of Hasbrouck Heights's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Jersey average of 25.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Hasbrouck Heights
- 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 Nj 17 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 28% of Hasbrouck Heights is under tree cover (about average for 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. Laguardia's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
