Noise Levels in Rockwood, Spokane, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Rockwood
Quiet office to normal conversation
889
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
22% of Rockwood residents
66 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Rockwood 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 889 Rockwood residents, or 21.7%, live above that level. By land area, 26.8% of Rockwood is above 55 dBA.
73.2% below 55 dBA
26.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Rockwood compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Rockwood
Average noise levels for Rockwood residents, grouped by direction from the center of Rockwood. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Rockwood; the lowest is in eastern Rockwood, where just 24% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Rockwood
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Rockwood
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Rockwood
54.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Rockwood
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Rockwood
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Rockwood sounds about 21% louder than in eastern Rockwood, a 2.8 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 E Rockwood Blvd do you need to be?
E Rockwood Blvd produces an estimated 55 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
55 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 38% of Rockwood sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 32% 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
Spokane International (GEG) sits west of Rockwood. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Rockwood, particularly to the east, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Rockwood
The bar chart below shows the share of Rockwood residents in each noise band. About 80% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Rockwood Compares
Rockwood sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Rockwood's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Manitocannon Hill, Emerson Garfield, Chief Garry Park, and Thorpe Westwood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Rockwood's 51.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Rockwood because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 21.7% of Rockwood 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, 26.8% of Rockwood's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Washington average of 27.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Rockwood
- 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 E Rockwood 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 38% of Rockwood is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), 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. Spokane International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
