Noise Levels in La Pine, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
48 dBA
Average noise across La Pine
Quiet office
1,343
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
11% of La Pine residents
87 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across La Pine 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 1,343 La Pine residents, or 11.0%, live above that level. By land area, 9.6% of La Pine is above 55 dBA.
90.4% below 55 dBA
9.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in La Pine compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of La Pine
Average noise levels for La Pine residents, grouped by direction from the center of La Pine. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern La Pine; the lowest is in western La Pine, where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern La Pine
53.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern La Pine
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern La Pine
48.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Central La Pine
46.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western La Pine
45.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in northeastern La Pine sounds about 71% louder than in western La Pine, a 7.7 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 US Route 97 do you need to be?
US Route 97 produces an estimated 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 20% of La Pine sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 11% 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 La Pine. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across La Pine
The bar chart below shows the share of La Pine residents in each noise band. About 95% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 1% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How La Pine Compares
La Pine sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how La Pine's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Three Rivers, Sisters, Prineville, and Terrebonne.
Average noise level (dBA)
La Pine's 48.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than La Pine because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 11.0% of La Pine 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, 9.6% of La Pine's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Oregon average of 24.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to La Pine
- 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 US Route 97 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 20% of La Pine is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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.
