Noise Levels in Lake of the Woods, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Lake of the Woods
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
123
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
97% of Lake of the Woods residents
68 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Lake of the Woods 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 123 Lake of the Woods residents, or 96.6%, live above that level. By land area, 67.2% of Lake of the Woods is above 55 dBA.
32.8% below 55 dBA
67.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Lake of the Woods compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Lake of the Woods
Average noise levels for Lake of the Woods residents, grouped by direction from the center of Lake of the Woods. Northern Lake of the Woods carries the highest population-weighted average; Central Lake of the Woods carries the lowest. Just 100% of residents in Central Lake of the Woods live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Northern Lake of the Woods.
Central Lake of the Woods
56.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Lake of the Woods
62.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern Lake of the Woods
57.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Lake of the Woods sounds about 51% louder than Central Lake of the Woods to the human ear, a 5.9 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 68 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
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
55 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 0% of Lake of the Woods sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most cities) and roughly 2% 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 Lake of the Woods. 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 Lake of the Woods
The bar chart below shows the share of Lake of the Woods residents in each noise band. About 0% 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 Lake of the Woods Compares
Lake of the Woods sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Lake of the Woods's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Shady Pine, Wocus, Modoc Point, and Hildebrand.
Average noise level (dBA)
Lake of the Woods's 58.8 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Lake of the Woods because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 96.6% of Lake of the Woods residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 67.2% of Lake of the Woods'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 Lake of the Woods
- 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 0% of Lake of the Woods is under tree cover (much lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is cultivated cropland. 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.
