Noise Levels in Moss Bay, Kirkland, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Moss Bay
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,102
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
36% of Moss Bay residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Moss Bay 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 2,102 Moss Bay residents, or 35.7%, live above that level. By land area, 34.7% of Moss Bay is above 55 dBA.
65.3% below 55 dBA
34.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Moss Bay compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Moss Bay
Average noise levels for Moss Bay residents, grouped by direction from the center of Moss Bay. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Moss Bay; the lowest is in northern Moss Bay, where just 10% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Moss Bay
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Moss Bay
55.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Moss Bay
53.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Moss Bay
53.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Moss Bay
51.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Moss Bay sounds about 46% louder than in northern Moss Bay, a 5.5 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 67 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
67 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
36 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 Moss Bay sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 73% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Moss Bay. 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.
Airport Noise
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) sits south of Moss Bay. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Moss Bay, 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 Moss Bay
The bar chart below shows the share of Moss Bay residents in each noise band. About 63% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 20% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Moss Bay Compares
Moss Bay sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Moss Bay's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Matthews Beach, Interlake, Cedar Park, and North Redmond.
Average noise level (dBA)
Moss Bay's 54.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Moss Bay because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 35.7% of Moss Bay 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, 34.7% of Moss Bay's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Washington average of 27.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Moss Bay
- 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 Moss Bay 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. Seattle-Tacoma International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
