Noise Levels in South Rose Hill, Kirkland, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across South Rose Hill
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,474
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
31% of South Rose Hill residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across South Rose Hill 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 1,474 South Rose Hill residents, or 31.2%, live above that level. By land area, 33.2% of South Rose Hill is above 55 dBA.
66.8% below 55 dBA
33.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in South Rose Hill compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of South Rose Hill
Average noise levels for South Rose Hill residents, grouped by direction from the center of South Rose Hill. The highest population-weighted average is in western South Rose Hill; the lowest is in southeastern South Rose Hill, where just 30% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Western South Rose Hill
65.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern South Rose Hill
62.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern South Rose Hill
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern South Rose Hill
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern South Rose Hill
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in western South Rose Hill sounds about 145% louder than in southeastern South Rose Hill, a 12.9 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 I-405 do you need to be?
I-405 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 44% of South Rose Hill sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 36% 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
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) sits southwest of South Rose Hill. 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 South Rose Hill, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across South Rose Hill
The bar chart below shows the share of South Rose Hill residents in each noise band. About 84% 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 South Rose Hill Compares
South Rose Hill sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how South Rose Hill's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Waynita-Simonds-Norway Hill, Houghton, Town Center, and Laurelhurst.
Average noise level (dBA)
South Rose Hill's 52.5 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 South Rose Hill because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 31.2% of South Rose Hill 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, 33.2% of South Rose Hill'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 South Rose Hill
- 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 I-405 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 44% of South Rose Hill 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. Seattle-Tacoma International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
