Noise Levels in Prospect Park, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Prospect Park
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,702
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
66% of Prospect Park residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Prospect Park 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 3,702 Prospect Park residents, or 65.7%, live above that level. By land area, 68.2% of Prospect Park is above 55 dBA.
31.8% below 55 dBA
68.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Prospect Park compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Prospect Park
Average noise levels for Prospect Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Prospect Park. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Prospect Park; the lowest is in northern Prospect Park, where just 74% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Prospect Park
63.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern Prospect Park
62.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Prospect Park
60.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Prospect Park
60.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Prospect Park
59.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Prospect Park sounds about 31% louder than in northern Prospect Park, a 3.9 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 Lincoln Av do you need to be?
Lincoln Av produces an estimated 67 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
46 dBA
Quiet office
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 27% of Prospect Park sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 44% 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 Prospect Park. 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 east of Prospect Park. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Prospect Park, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Prospect Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Prospect Park residents in each noise band. About 22% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 37% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Prospect Park Compares
Prospect Park sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Prospect Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Norwood, Folcroft, Folsom, and Morton.
Average noise level (dBA)
Prospect Park'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 Prospect Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 65.7% of Prospect Park 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, 68.2% of Prospect Park'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 Prospect Park
- 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 Lincoln Av 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 27% of Prospect Park 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 east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
