Noise Levels in Kensington, Buffalo, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Kensington
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,691
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
43% of Kensington residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Kensington 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 3,691 Kensington residents, or 42.9%, live above that level. By land area, 43.6% of Kensington is above 55 dBA.
56.4% below 55 dBA
43.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Kensington compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Kensington
Average noise levels for Kensington residents, grouped by direction from the center of Kensington. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Kensington; the lowest is in northern Kensington, where just 14% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Kensington
67.0 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southwestern Kensington
64.7 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Kensington
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Kensington
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Kensington
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Kensington sounds about 169% louder than in northern Kensington, a 14.3 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 Eggert Rd do you need to be?
Eggert Rd produces an estimated 60 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
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
39 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 14% of Kensington sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 60% 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
Buffalo Niagara International (BUF) sits east of Kensington. 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 Kensington, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Kensington
The bar chart below shows the share of Kensington residents in each noise band. About 54% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 11% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Kensington Compares
Kensington sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Kensington's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Lasalle, Forest, Kenfield, and Broadway-Fillmore.
Average noise level (dBA)
Kensington's 55.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Kensington because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 42.9% of Kensington 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, 43.6% of Kensington's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Kensington
- 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 Eggert Rd 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 14% of Kensington is under tree cover (about average for 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. Buffalo Niagara International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
