Noise Levels in Odenton, MD | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Odenton
Quiet office to normal conversation
7,308
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
23% of Odenton residents
94 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Odenton 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 7,308 Odenton residents, or 22.7%, live above that level. By land area, 29.7% of Odenton is above 55 dBA.
70.3% below 55 dBA
29.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Odenton compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Odenton
Average noise levels for Odenton residents, grouped by direction from the center of Odenton. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Odenton; the lowest is in southern Odenton, where just 9% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northern Odenton
58.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Odenton
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Odenton
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Odenton
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Odenton
48.7 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northern Odenton sounds about 100% louder than in southern Odenton, a 10.0 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 State Hwy 32 do you need to be?
State Hwy 32 produces an estimated 73 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
73 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 36% of Odenton sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 38% 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 Odenton. 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
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) sits north of Odenton. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Odenton, 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 Odenton
The bar chart below shows the share of Odenton residents in each noise band. About 80% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 10% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Odenton Compares
Odenton sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Odenton's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Severn, Pasadena, Severna Park, and South Laurel.
Average noise level (dBA)
Odenton's 51.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Maryland as a whole averages 52.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Odenton because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.7% of Odenton 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, 29.7% of Odenton's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maryland average of 32.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Odenton
- 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 State Hwy 32 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 36% of Odenton is under tree cover (about average for cities), 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. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
