Noise Levels in New Hampshire Gardens, Takoma Park, MD | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across New Hampshire Gardens
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,703
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
54% of New Hampshire Gardens residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across New Hampshire Gardens 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 1,703 New Hampshire Gardens residents, or 53.8%, live above that level. By land area, 52.5% of New Hampshire Gardens is above 55 dBA.
47.5% below 55 dBA
52.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in New Hampshire Gardens compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of New Hampshire Gardens
Average noise levels for New Hampshire Gardens residents, grouped by direction from the center of New Hampshire Gardens. Southern New Hampshire Gardens carries the highest population-weighted average; Central New Hampshire Gardens carries the lowest. Just 38% of residents in Central New Hampshire Gardens live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in Southern New Hampshire Gardens.
Central New Hampshire Gardens
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern New Hampshire Gardens
56.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern New Hampshire Gardens
56.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern New Hampshire Gardens
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern New Hampshire Gardens sounds about 29% louder than Central New Hampshire Gardens to the human ear, a 3.7 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 69 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
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 55% of New Hampshire Gardens sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 24% 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
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl (DCA) sits south of New Hampshire Gardens. 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 New Hampshire Gardens, 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 New Hampshire Gardens
The bar chart below shows the share of New Hampshire Gardens residents in each noise band. About 40% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 13% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How New Hampshire Gardens Compares
New Hampshire Gardens sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how New Hampshire Gardens's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Green Meadows, Ellaville, Forest Glen, and Hillside.
Average noise level (dBA)
New Hampshire Gardens's 55.4 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Maryland as a whole averages 52.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than New Hampshire Gardens because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 53.8% of New Hampshire Gardens 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, 52.5% of New Hampshire Gardens's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maryland average of 32.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to New Hampshire Gardens
- 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 55% of New Hampshire Gardens is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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. Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
