Noise Levels in Mount Auburn, Cincinnati, OH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Mount Auburn
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,417
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
57% of Mount Auburn residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Mount Auburn 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 2,417 Mount Auburn residents, or 56.7%, live above that level. By land area, 62.4% of Mount Auburn is above 55 dBA.
37.6% below 55 dBA
62.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Mount Auburn compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Mount Auburn
Average noise levels for Mount Auburn residents, grouped by direction from the center of Mount Auburn. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Mount Auburn; the lowest is in northern Mount Auburn, where just 41% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southern Mount Auburn
68.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southwestern Mount Auburn
59.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Mount Auburn
55.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Mount Auburn
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Mount Auburn
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Mount Auburn sounds about 179% louder than in northern Mount Auburn, a 14.8 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 Highland Ave do you need to be?
Highland Ave produces an estimated 54 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
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
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 17% of Mount Auburn sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 55% 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 southwest of Mount Auburn. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Mount Auburn, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Mount Auburn
The bar chart below shows the share of Mount Auburn residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 11% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Mount Auburn Compares
Mount Auburn sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Mount Auburn's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with West End, Central Business District, South Fairmount, and East Westwood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Mount Auburn's 55.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Ohio as a whole averages 51.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Mount Auburn because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 56.7% of Mount Auburn 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, 62.4% of Mount Auburn'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 Mount Auburn
- 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 Highland Ave 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 17% of Mount Auburn 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. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
