Noise Levels in Rock Creek, Clackamas, OR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Rock Creek
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,991
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
31% of Rock Creek residents
68 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Rock Creek 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 3,991 Rock Creek residents, or 30.9%, live above that level. By land area, 30.1% of Rock Creek is above 55 dBA.
69.9% below 55 dBA
30.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Rock Creek compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Rock Creek
Average noise levels for Rock Creek residents, grouped by direction from the center of Rock Creek. The highest population-weighted average is in central Rock Creek; the lowest is in northeastern Rock Creek, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Central Rock Creek
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Rock Creek
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Rock Creek
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Rock Creek
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Rock Creek
50.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in central Rock Creek sounds about 27% louder than in northeastern Rock Creek, a 3.5 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 Oregon Route 212 do you need to be?
Oregon Route 212 produces an estimated 66 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
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 22% of Rock Creek sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 47% 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
Portland International (PDX) sits north of Rock Creek. 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 Rock Creek, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Rock Creek
The bar chart below shows the share of Rock Creek residents in each noise band. About 70% 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 Rock Creek Compares
Rock Creek sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Rock Creek's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Wilkes, Gresham-Rockwood, Pleasant Valley, and Sunnyside.
Average noise level (dBA)
Rock Creek's 52.6 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Oregon as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Rock Creek because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 30.9% of Rock Creek 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, 30.1% of Rock Creek's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Oregon average of 24.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Rock Creek
- 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 Oregon Route 212 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 22% of Rock Creek is under tree cover (heavier than most neighborhoods), 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. Portland International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
