Noise Levels in Hill East, Washington, DC | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Hill East
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,907
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
47% of Hill East residents
91 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Hill East 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 2,907 Hill East residents, or 47.3%, live above that level. By land area, 74.5% of Hill East is above 55 dBA.
25.5% below 55 dBA
74.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Hill East compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Hill East
Average noise levels for Hill East residents, grouped by direction from the center of Hill East. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Hill East; the lowest is in southwestern Hill East, where just 65% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Hill East
65.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Hill East
63.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southwestern Hill East
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Hill East sounds about 44% louder than in southwestern Hill East, a 5.3 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 91 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 quiet office to normal conversation.
At source
91 dBA
Power saw
165 ft
76 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
660 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
¼ mile
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
½ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 1% of Hill East sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 70% 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 Hill East. 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
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl (DCA) sits southwest of Hill East. 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Hill East, 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 Hill East
The bar chart below shows the share of Hill East residents in each noise band. About 51% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 23% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Hill East Compares
Hill East sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Hill East's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Lincoln Park, Brookland, Fairlawn, and Woodley Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Hill East's 55.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. District of Columbia as a whole averages 57.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Hill East because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 47.3% of Hill East 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, 74.5% of Hill East's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a District of Columbia average of 60.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Hill East
- 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 1% of Hill East is under tree cover (much 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. Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
