Noise Levels in Hollywood, Munster, IN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Hollywood
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,956
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
62% of Hollywood residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Hollywood 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 1,956 Hollywood residents, or 61.8%, live above that level. By land area, 55.6% of Hollywood is above 55 dBA.
44.4% below 55 dBA
55.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Hollywood compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Hollywood
Average noise levels for Hollywood residents, grouped by direction from the center of Hollywood. The highest population-weighted average is in central Hollywood; the lowest is in northern Hollywood, where just 44% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Central Hollywood
60.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Hollywood
58.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Hollywood
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Hollywood
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in central Hollywood sounds about 37% louder than in northern Hollywood, a 4.5 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 State Line Ave do you need to be?
State Line Ave produces an estimated 59 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
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
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 17% of Hollywood sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 48% 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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How Noise Is Distributed Across Hollywood
The bar chart below shows the share of Hollywood residents in each noise band. About 21% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 28% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Hollywood Compares
Hollywood sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Hollywood's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with North Hammond, Central Hammond, Forestdale, and Columbia Center.
Average noise level (dBA)
Hollywood's 58.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Indiana as a whole averages 53.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Hollywood because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 61.8% of Hollywood 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, 55.6% of Hollywood's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Indiana average of 37.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Hollywood
- 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 State Line Ave 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 17% of Hollywood is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), 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.
