Noise Levels in Scioto Woods, Columbus, OH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Scioto Woods
Quiet office to normal conversation
869
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
29% of Scioto Woods residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Scioto Woods 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 869 Scioto Woods residents, or 29.4%, live above that level. By land area, 31.8% of Scioto Woods is above 55 dBA.
68.2% below 55 dBA
31.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Scioto Woods compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Scioto Woods
Average noise levels for Scioto Woods residents, grouped by direction from the center of Scioto Woods. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Scioto Woods; the lowest is in northwestern Scioto Woods, where just 16% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Scioto Woods
57.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Scioto Woods
54.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Scioto Woods
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Scioto Woods
52.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Scioto Woods
51.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Scioto Woods sounds about 53% louder than in northwestern Scioto Woods, a 6.1 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 79 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 18% of Scioto Woods sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 46% 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
John Glenn Columbus International (CMH) sits east of Scioto Woods. 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 Scioto Woods, 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 Scioto Woods
The bar chart below shows the share of Scioto Woods residents in each noise band. About 73% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 6% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Scioto Woods Compares
Scioto Woods sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Scioto Woods's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Harrison West, Argyle Park, Scioto Trace, and king-lincoln-bronzeville-columbus-oh.
Average noise level (dBA)
Scioto Woods's 52.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Ohio as a whole averages 51.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Scioto Woods because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 29.4% of Scioto Woods 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, 31.8% of Scioto Woods's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Ohio average of 26.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Scioto Woods
- 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 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 18% of Scioto Woods is under tree cover (about average for 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. John Glenn Columbus International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
