Noise Levels in Reesedale, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
45 dBA
Average noise across Reesedale
Quiet suburban street at night
13
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
9% of Reesedale residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Reesedale 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 13 Reesedale residents, or 8.8%, live above that level. By land area, 8.6% of Reesedale is above 55 dBA.
91.4% below 55 dBA
8.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Reesedale compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Reesedale
Average noise levels for Reesedale residents, grouped by direction from the center of Reesedale. Southern Reesedale carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern Reesedale carries the lowest. Just 1% of residents in Northern Reesedale live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Southern Reesedale.
Central Reesedale
46.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Reesedale
39.1 dBA · Quiet
Soft rainfall
Southern Reesedale
48.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Reesedale
42.4 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southern Reesedale sounds about 87% louder than Northern Reesedale to the human ear, a 9.0 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 Ao4d Hooks Rd do you need to be?
Ao4d Hooks Rd produces an estimated 56 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
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 60% of Reesedale sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 0% 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 Reesedale. 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 Reesedale
The bar chart below shows the share of Reesedale 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 Reesedale Compares
Reesedale sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Reesedale's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Kellersburg, Tidal, Sherrett, and Lawsonham.
Average noise level (dBA)
Reesedale's 44.9 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Reesedale because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 8.8% of Reesedale 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, 8.6% of Reesedale'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 Reesedale
- 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 Ao4d Hooks 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 60% of Reesedale is under tree cover (heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is deciduous forest. 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.
