Noise Levels in Nixon, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Nixon
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
97
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
44% of Nixon residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Nixon 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 97 Nixon residents, or 43.9%, live above that level. By land area, 58.9% of Nixon is above 55 dBA.
41.1% below 55 dBA
58.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Nixon compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Nixon
Average noise levels for Nixon residents, grouped by direction from the center of Nixon. Southern Nixon carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Nixon carries the lowest. Just 36% of residents in Western Nixon live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Southern Nixon.
Central Nixon
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Nixon
66.1 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Western Nixon
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Nixon sounds about 103% louder than Western Nixon to the human ear, a 10.2 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 72 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
72 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 6% of Nixon sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most cities) and roughly 6% 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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How Noise Is Distributed Across Nixon
The bar chart below shows the share of Nixon residents in each noise band. About 0% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 7% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Nixon Compares
Nixon sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Nixon's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Haysville, Mount Chestnut Springs, West Winfield, and Slate Lick.
Average noise level (dBA)
Nixon's 57.8 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Nixon because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 43.9% of Nixon residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 58.9% of Nixon's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Pennsylvania average of 33.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Nixon
- 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 6% of Nixon is under tree cover (much lighter than most cities), 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.
