Noise Levels in Pimlico, SC | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
48 dBA
Average noise across Pimlico
Quiet office
21
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
7% of Pimlico residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Pimlico 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 21 Pimlico residents, or 7.3%, live above that level. By land area, 2.7% of Pimlico is above 55 dBA.
97.3% below 55 dBA
2.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Pimlico compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Pimlico
Average noise levels for Pimlico residents, grouped by direction from the center of Pimlico. Southern Pimlico carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern Pimlico carries the lowest. Just 0% of residents in Eastern Pimlico live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Southern Pimlico.
Central Pimlico
50.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Eastern Pimlico
29.2 dBA · Quiet
Whisper
Northern Pimlico
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Pimlico
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Pimlico
43.2 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southern Pimlico sounds about 421% louder than Eastern Pimlico to the human ear, a 23.8 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 Pimlico Blvd do you need to be?
Pimlico Blvd produces an estimated 53 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
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
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 18% of Pimlico sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 14% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Pimlico. 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
Charleston Afb/International (CHS) sits south of Pimlico. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Pimlico, 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 Pimlico
The bar chart below shows the share of Pimlico residents in each noise band. About 100% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Pimlico Compares
Pimlico sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Pimlico's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Oakley, Strawberry, Whitesville, and Santee Circle.
Average noise level (dBA)
Pimlico's 48.4 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. South Carolina as a whole averages 48.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Pimlico because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 7.3% of Pimlico 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, 2.7% of Pimlico's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a South Carolina average of 15.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Pimlico
- 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 Pimlico Blvd 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 18% of Pimlico is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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. Charleston Afb/International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
