Noise Levels in Mack South, Cincinnati, OH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
49 dBA
Average noise across Mack South
Quiet office
292
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
10% of Mack South residents
60 dBA
Loudest residential point
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Mack South 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 292 Mack South residents, or 9.5%, live above that level. By land area, 6.2% of Mack South is above 55 dBA.
93.8% below 55 dBA
6.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Mack South compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Mack South
Average noise levels for Mack South residents, grouped by direction from the center of Mack South. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Mack South; the lowest is in western Mack South, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Mack South
50.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southeastern Mack South
50.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northwestern Mack South
49.7 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southern Mack South
48.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Mack South
48.0 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Mack South sounds about 21% louder than in western Mack South, a 2.7 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 Van Blaricum Rd do you need to be?
Van Blaricum Rd produces an estimated 55 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
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
35 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 33% of Mack South sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 21% 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
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG) sits south of Mack South. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Mack South, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Mack South
The bar chart below shows the share of Mack South residents in each noise band. About 100% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Mack South Compares
Mack South sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Mack South's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Sayler Park, Monfort Heights South, Corryville, and monfort-heights-east-cincinnati-oh.
Average noise level (dBA)
Mack South's 49.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Ohio as a whole averages 51.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Mack South because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 9.5% of Mack South residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 6.2% of Mack South's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Ohio average of 26.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Mack South
- 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 Van Blaricum 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 33% of Mack South is under tree cover (much heavier than most 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
