Noise Levels in Pearl-Meigs-Monroe, Rochester, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
63 dBA
Average noise across Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
Busy restaurant
2,923
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
79% of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Pearl-Meigs-Monroe 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 2,923 Pearl-Meigs-Monroe residents, or 79.3%, live above that level. By land area, 90.4% of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe is above 55 dBA.
9.6% below 55 dBA
90.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Pearl-Meigs-Monroe compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
Average noise levels for Pearl-Meigs-Monroe residents, grouped by direction from the center of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Pearl-Meigs-Monroe; the lowest is in northwestern Pearl-Meigs-Monroe, where just 75% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
73.8 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Central Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
70.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northwestern Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
66.2 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Pearl-Meigs-Monroe sounds about 69% louder than in northwestern Pearl-Meigs-Monroe, a 7.6 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 I-490 do you need to be?
I-490 produces an estimated 66 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
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 19% of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 63% 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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Airport Noise
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International (ROC) sits southwest of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe, 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 Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
The bar chart below shows the share of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe residents in each noise band. About 1% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 60% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Pearl-Meigs-Monroe Compares
Pearl-Meigs-Monroe sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Pearl-Meigs-Monroe's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with South Marketview Heights, Ellwanger-Barry, Browncroft, and Genesee-Jefferson.
Average noise level (dBA)
Pearl-Meigs-Monroe's 62.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Pearl-Meigs-Monroe because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 79.3% of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe 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, 90.4% of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Pearl-Meigs-Monroe
- 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 I-490 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 19% of Pearl-Meigs-Monroe is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), 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. Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
