Noise Levels in Northside, Syracuse, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Northside
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,391
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
29% of Northside residents
64 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Northside 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 2,391 Northside residents, or 29.4%, live above that level. By land area, 28.2% of Northside is above 55 dBA.
71.8% below 55 dBA
28.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Northside compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Northside
Average noise levels for Northside residents, grouped by direction from the center of Northside. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Northside; the lowest is in southeastern Northside, where just 15% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Northside
56.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Northside
55.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Northside
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Northside
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Northside
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Northside sounds about 33% louder than in southeastern Northside, a 4.1 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 64 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
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
42 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 30% of Northside sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 52% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Syracuse Hancock International (SYR) sits northeast of Northside. 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 Northside, 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 Northside
The bar chart below shows the share of Northside residents in each noise band. About 65% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Northside Compares
Northside sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Northside's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Near Northeast, Far Westside, University Hill, and Washington Square.
Average noise level (dBA)
Northside's 53.5 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Northside because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 29.4% of Northside residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 28.2% of Northside'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 Northside
- 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 30% of Northside 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.
