Noise Levels in New Scotland-Woodlawn, Albany, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across New Scotland-Woodlawn
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,307
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
46% of New Scotland-Woodlawn residents
63 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across New Scotland-Woodlawn 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 1,307 New Scotland-Woodlawn residents, or 46.1%, live above that level. By land area, 43.0% of New Scotland-Woodlawn is above 55 dBA.
57.0% below 55 dBA
43.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in New Scotland-Woodlawn compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of New Scotland-Woodlawn
Average noise levels for New Scotland-Woodlawn residents, grouped by direction from the center of New Scotland-Woodlawn. Eastern New Scotland-Woodlawn carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern New Scotland-Woodlawn carries the lowest. Just 50% of residents in Northern New Scotland-Woodlawn live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in Eastern New Scotland-Woodlawn.
Central New Scotland-Woodlawn
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern New Scotland-Woodlawn
58.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern New Scotland-Woodlawn
52.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western New Scotland-Woodlawn
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern New Scotland-Woodlawn sounds about 42% louder than Northern New Scotland-Woodlawn to the human ear, a 5.1 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 63 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
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 41% of New Scotland-Woodlawn sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 37% 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
Albany International (ALB) sits north of New Scotland-Woodlawn. 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 New Scotland-Woodlawn, particularly to the south, 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 Scotland-Woodlawn
The bar chart below shows the share of New Scotland-Woodlawn residents in each noise band. About 54% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 5% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How New Scotland-Woodlawn Compares
New Scotland-Woodlawn sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how New Scotland-Woodlawn's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Helderberg, Central Ave, Sheridan Hollow, and park-south-albany-ny.
Average noise level (dBA)
New Scotland-Woodlawn's 55.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter 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 New Scotland-Woodlawn because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 46.1% of New Scotland-Woodlawn 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, 43.0% of New Scotland-Woodlawn'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 New Scotland-Woodlawn
- 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 41% of New Scotland-Woodlawn 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. Albany International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
