Noise Levels in Salt Meadow Bay, Virginia Beach, VA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Salt Meadow Bay
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,206
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
50% of Salt Meadow Bay residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Salt Meadow Bay 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 3,206 Salt Meadow Bay residents, or 49.8%, live above that level. By land area, 59.0% of Salt Meadow Bay is above 55 dBA.
41.0% below 55 dBA
59.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Salt Meadow Bay compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Salt Meadow Bay
Average noise levels for Salt Meadow Bay residents, grouped by direction from the center of Salt Meadow Bay. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Salt Meadow Bay; the lowest is in northern Salt Meadow Bay, where just 20% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Salt Meadow Bay
68.8 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southern Salt Meadow Bay
63.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern Salt Meadow Bay
59.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Salt Meadow Bay
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Salt Meadow Bay
53.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Salt Meadow Bay sounds about 185% louder than in northern Salt Meadow Bay, a 15.1 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 Birdneck Rd S do you need to be?
Birdneck Rd S produces an estimated 70 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
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 24% of Salt Meadow Bay 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Norfolk International (ORF) sits west of Salt Meadow Bay. 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 Salt Meadow Bay, 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 Salt Meadow Bay
The bar chart below shows the share of Salt Meadow Bay residents in each noise band. About 33% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 25% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Salt Meadow Bay Compares
Salt Meadow Bay sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Salt Meadow Bay's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Butts Station, Kempsville Gardens, Dam Neck Naval Air Station, and West Ocean View.
Average noise level (dBA)
Salt Meadow Bay's 57.6 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Virginia as a whole averages 52.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Salt Meadow Bay because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 49.8% of Salt Meadow Bay 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, 59.0% of Salt Meadow Bay's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Virginia average of 30.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Salt Meadow Bay
- 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 Birdneck Rd S 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 24% of Salt Meadow Bay 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. Norfolk International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
