Noise Levels in Soho, Manhattan, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
62 dBA
Average noise across Soho
Busy restaurant
8,072
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
92% of Soho residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Soho 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 8,072 Soho residents, or 92.0%, live above that level. By land area, 91.6% of Soho is above 55 dBA.
8.4% below 55 dBA
91.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Soho compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Soho
Average noise levels for Soho residents, grouped by direction from the center of Soho. The highest population-weighted average is in western Soho; the lowest is in central Soho, where just 94% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Western Soho
66.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southeastern Soho
64.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Soho
64.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
To the human ear, noise in western Soho sounds about 16% louder than in central Soho, a 2.2 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 Panynj-holland Tunnel do you need to be?
Panynj-holland Tunnel produces an estimated 73 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
73 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 0% of Soho sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 84% 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
Laguardia (LGA) sits northeast of Soho. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Soho, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Soho
The bar chart below shows the share of Soho residents in each noise band. About 7% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 54% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Soho Compares
Soho sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Soho's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Little Italy, Dumbo, Tribeca, and Red Hook.
Average noise level (dBA)
Soho's 61.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Soho because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 92.0% of Soho 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, 91.6% of Soho's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Soho
- 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 Panynj-holland Tunnel 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 0% of Soho is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is high-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. Laguardia's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
