Noise Levels in Oak Grove, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Oak Grove
Quiet office to normal conversation
5,447
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
33% of Oak Grove residents
68 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Oak Grove 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 5,447 Oak Grove residents, or 33.3%, live above that level. By land area, 38.2% of Oak Grove is above 55 dBA.
61.8% below 55 dBA
38.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Oak Grove compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Oak Grove
Average noise levels for Oak Grove residents, grouped by direction from the center of Oak Grove. Central Oak Grove carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern Oak Grove carries the lowest. Just 32% of residents in Eastern Oak Grove live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in Central Oak Grove.
Central Oak Grove
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Oak Grove
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Oak Grove
54.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Oak Grove
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Oak Grove
53.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Oak Grove sounds about 16% louder than Eastern Oak Grove to the human ear, a 2.2 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 Oregon Route 99E do you need to be?
Oregon Route 99E produces an estimated 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 34% of Oak Grove sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 43% 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 Oak Grove. 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
Portland International (PDX) sits north of Oak Grove. 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 Oak Grove, 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 Oak Grove
The bar chart below shows the share of Oak Grove residents in each noise band. About 65% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Oak Grove Compares
Oak Grove sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Oak Grove's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Milwaukie, Oatfield, Cedar Mill, and Clackamas.
Average noise level (dBA)
Oak Grove's 53.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Oak Grove because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 33.3% of Oak Grove 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, 38.2% of Oak Grove's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Oregon average of 24.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Oak Grove
- 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 Oregon Route 99E 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 34% of Oak Grove is under tree cover (about average for cities), 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. Portland International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
