Noise Levels in Near Westside, Syracuse, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Near Westside
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,709
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
60% of Near Westside residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Near Westside 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 2,709 Near Westside residents, or 60.0%, live above that level. By land area, 55.1% of Near Westside is above 55 dBA.
44.9% below 55 dBA
55.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Near Westside compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Near Westside
Average noise levels for Near Westside residents, grouped by direction from the center of Near Westside. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Near Westside; the lowest is in southwestern Near Westside, where just 46% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Near Westside
62.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern Near Westside
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Near Westside
58.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Near Westside
57.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Near Westside
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Near Westside sounds about 62% louder than in southwestern Near Westside, a 7.0 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 79 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
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 27% of Near Westside sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 48% 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 Near Westside. 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
Syracuse Hancock International (SYR) sits northeast of Near Westside. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Near Westside, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Near Westside
The bar chart below shows the share of Near Westside residents in each noise band. About 21% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Near Westside Compares
Near Westside sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Near Westside's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Southwest, Near Eastside, Strathmore, and Meadowbrook.
Average noise level (dBA)
Near Westside's 56.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Near Westside because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 60.0% of Near Westside 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, 55.1% of Near Westside's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Near Westside
- 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 27% of Near Westside is under tree cover (heavier than most 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. Syracuse Hancock International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
