Noise Levels in Oreland, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Oreland
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,347
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
59% of Oreland residents
86 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Oreland 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 4,347 Oreland residents, or 58.9%, live above that level. By land area, 57.9% of Oreland is above 55 dBA.
42.1% below 55 dBA
57.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Oreland compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Oreland
Average noise levels for Oreland residents, grouped by direction from the center of Oreland. Southern Oreland carries the highest population-weighted average; Central Oreland carries the lowest. Just 50% of residents in Central Oreland live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in Southern Oreland.
Central Oreland
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Oreland
60.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Oreland
57.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Oreland
61.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Oreland
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Oreland sounds about 53% louder than Central Oreland to the human ear, 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 Fort Washington Ex do you need to be?
Fort Washington Ex produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 39% of Oreland sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 26% 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 Oreland. 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
Philadelphia International (PHL) sits south of Oreland. 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 Oreland, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Oreland
The bar chart below shows the share of Oreland residents in each noise band. About 30% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 20% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Oreland Compares
Oreland sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Oreland's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Wyncote, Fort Washington, Narberth, and Haverford.
Average noise level (dBA)
Oreland's 58.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Oreland because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 58.9% of Oreland 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, 57.9% of Oreland'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 Oreland
- 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 Fort Washington Ex 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 39% of Oreland 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. Philadelphia International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
