Noise Levels in North Star, Anchorage, AK | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across North Star
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
232
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
63% of North Star residents
68 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across North Star 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 232 North Star residents, or 62.7%, live above that level. By land area, 50.0% of North Star is above 55 dBA.
50.0% below 55 dBA
50.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in North Star compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of North Star
Average noise levels for North Star residents, grouped by direction from the center of North Star. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern North Star; the lowest is in western North Star, where just 50% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Eastern North Star
60.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central North Star
58.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western North Star
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in eastern North Star sounds about 45% louder than in western North Star, a 5.4 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 68 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
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
55 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 0% of North Star sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 0% 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
Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC) sits southwest of North Star. 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 North Star, 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 North Star
The bar chart below shows the share of North Star residents in each noise band. About 13% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 70% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How North Star Compares
North Star sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how North Star's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with basher-anchorage-ak, South Addition, glen-alps-anchorage-ak, and bear-valley-anchorage-ak.
Average noise level (dBA)
North Star's 59.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Alaska as a whole averages 46.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than North Star because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 62.7% of North Star 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, 50.0% of North Star's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Alaska average of 11.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to North Star
- 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 0% of North Star is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is . 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. Ted Stevens Anchorage International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
