Noise Levels in Oakmont, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Oakmont
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,934
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
55% of Oakmont residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Oakmont 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 2,934 Oakmont residents, or 54.8%, live above that level. By land area, 62.6% of Oakmont is above 55 dBA.
37.4% below 55 dBA
62.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Oakmont compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Oakmont
Average noise levels for Oakmont residents, grouped by direction from the center of Oakmont. The highest population-weighted average is in western Oakmont; the lowest is in eastern Oakmont, where just 40% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Western Oakmont
59.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Oakmont
58.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Oakmont
58.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Oakmont
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Oakmont
56.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in western Oakmont sounds about 23% louder than in eastern Oakmont, a 3.0 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 Hulton Rd do you need to be?
Hulton Rd 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
51 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 27% of Oakmont sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 44% 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 Oakmont. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Oakmont
The bar chart below shows the share of Oakmont residents in each noise band. About 22% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 17% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Oakmont Compares
Oakmont sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Oakmont's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Fox Chapel, Turtle Creek, Forest Hills, and West View.
Average noise level (dBA)
Oakmont's 57.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Oakmont because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 54.8% of Oakmont 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, 62.6% of Oakmont'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 Oakmont
- 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 Hulton Rd 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 27% of Oakmont 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.
