Noise Levels in Little Italy, Erie, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Little Italy
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,937
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
54% of Little Italy residents
66 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Little Italy 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 1,937 Little Italy residents, or 54.5%, live above that level. By land area, 52.9% of Little Italy is above 55 dBA.
47.1% below 55 dBA
52.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Little Italy compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Little Italy
Average noise levels for Little Italy residents, grouped by direction from the center of Little Italy. The highest population-weighted average is in western Little Italy; the lowest is in eastern Little Italy, where just 57% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Western Little Italy
69.2 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Little Italy
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Little Italy
59.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Little Italy
58.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in western Little Italy sounds about 104% louder than in eastern Little Italy, a 10.3 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 66 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
66 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
45 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 14% of Little Italy sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 58% 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 Little Italy. 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 Little Italy
The bar chart below shows the share of Little Italy residents in each noise band. About 32% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 12% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Little Italy Compares
Little Italy sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Little Italy's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Marvintown, South East Hills, Central Eastside, and Robbins Blass.
Average noise level (dBA)
Little Italy's 56.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Little Italy because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 54.5% of Little Italy 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, 52.9% of Little Italy's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Pennsylvania average of 33.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Little Italy
- 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 14% of Little Italy 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.
