Noise Levels in Port Ewen, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Port Ewen
Quiet office to normal conversation
816
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of Port Ewen residents
87 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Port Ewen 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 816 Port Ewen residents, or 26.2%, live above that level. By land area, 40.2% of Port Ewen is above 55 dBA.
59.8% below 55 dBA
40.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Port Ewen compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Port Ewen
Average noise levels for Port Ewen residents, grouped by direction from the center of Port Ewen. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Port Ewen; the lowest is in northeastern Port Ewen, where just 11% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Port Ewen
62.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Port Ewen
59.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Port Ewen
54.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Port Ewen
54.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Port Ewen
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Port Ewen sounds about 111% louder than in northeastern Port Ewen, a 10.8 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 Cr 25 New Salem Rd do you need to be?
Cr 25 New Salem Rd produces an estimated 58 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
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
38 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 40% of Port Ewen sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 31% 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 Port Ewen. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Port Ewen
The bar chart below shows the share of Port Ewen residents in each noise band. About 76% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 5% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Port Ewen Compares
Port Ewen sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Port Ewen's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Ulster Park, Lake Katrine, Hurley, and Stone Ridge.
Average noise level (dBA)
Port Ewen's 53.6 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Port Ewen because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 26.2% of Port Ewen 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, 40.2% of Port Ewen'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 Port Ewen
- 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 Cr 25 New Salem Rd 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 40% of Port Ewen 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.
