Noise Levels in Penbrook, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Penbrook
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,085
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
83% of Penbrook residents
65 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Penbrook 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 1,085 Penbrook residents, or 82.7%, live above that level. By land area, 78.9% of Penbrook is above 55 dBA.
21.1% below 55 dBA
78.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Penbrook compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Penbrook
Average noise levels for Penbrook residents, grouped by direction from the center of Penbrook. Northern Penbrook carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Penbrook carries the lowest. Just 50% of residents in Southern Penbrook live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in Northern Penbrook.
Central Penbrook
58.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Penbrook
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Penbrook
59.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Penbrook
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Penbrook
55.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Penbrook sounds about 46% louder than Southern Penbrook to the human ear, a 5.5 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 Walnut St do you need to be?
Walnut St 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
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 21% of Penbrook sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 57% 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
Harrisburg International (MDT) sits southeast of Penbrook. 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 Penbrook, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Penbrook
The bar chart below shows the share of Penbrook residents in each noise band. About 9% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 36% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Penbrook Compares
Penbrook sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Penbrook's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Highspire, Paxtang, Campbelltown, and Dellville.
Average noise level (dBA)
Penbrook's 58.6 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Penbrook because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 82.7% of Penbrook 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, 78.9% of Penbrook'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 Penbrook
- 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 Walnut St 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 21% of Penbrook is under tree cover (lighter than most 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. Harrisburg International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
