Noise Levels in Northwood Hills, West Palm Beach, FL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Northwood Hills
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,205
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
68% of Northwood Hills residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Northwood Hills 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 2,205 Northwood Hills residents, or 67.7%, live above that level. By land area, 77.8% of Northwood Hills is above 55 dBA.
22.2% below 55 dBA
77.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Northwood Hills compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Northwood Hills
Average noise levels for Northwood Hills residents, grouped by direction from the center of Northwood Hills. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Northwood Hills; the lowest is in northern Northwood Hills, where just 82% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southern Northwood Hills
63.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Northwood Hills
63.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern Northwood Hills
62.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Northwood Hills
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Northwood Hills
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southern Northwood Hills sounds about 53% louder than in northern Northwood Hills, a 6.1 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 80 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 quiet office.
At source
80 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
46 dBA
Quiet office
½ mile
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 7% of Northwood Hills sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 42% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Northwood Hills. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
Airport Noise
Palm Beach International (PBI) sits southwest of Northwood Hills. 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 Northwood Hills, 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 Northwood Hills
The bar chart below shows the share of Northwood Hills residents in each noise band. About 12% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 18% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Northwood Hills Compares
Northwood Hills sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Northwood Hills's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Pinewood-West Palm Beach, Palm Club Village, Palm Beach Lakes, and Emerald Lake-Miami.
Average noise level (dBA)
Northwood Hills's 57.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Florida as a whole averages 51.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Northwood Hills because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 67.7% of Northwood Hills 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, 77.8% of Northwood Hills's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Florida average of 31.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Northwood Hills
- 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 7% of Northwood Hills is under tree cover (lighter 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. Palm Beach International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
