Noise Levels in Southampton County, VA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
44 dBA
Average noise across Southampton County
Quiet suburban street at night
1,310
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
8% of Southampton County residents
93 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Southampton County 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 1,310 Southampton County residents, or 7.7%, live above that level. By land area, 12.5% of Southampton County is above 55 dBA.
87.5% below 55 dBA
12.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Southampton County compares to similar-sized counties.
Noise by Part of Southampton County
Average noise levels for Southampton County residents, grouped by direction from the center of Southampton County. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Southampton County; the lowest is in the Capron area (western Southampton County), where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Southampton County
50.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Central Southampton County
50.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southwestern Southampton County
47.0 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Southampton County
45.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Capron
44.4 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Southampton County sounds about 52% louder than in the Capron area (western Southampton County), a 6.0 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 SR-1313 do you need to be?
SR-1313 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
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
37 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 46% of Southampton County sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most counties) and roughly 6% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Southampton County. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Southampton County
The bar chart below shows the share of Southampton County residents in each noise band. About 94% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 1% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Southampton County Compares
Southampton County sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Southampton County's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Franklin City, Sussex County, Hopewell City, and Colonial Heights City.
Average noise level (dBA)
Southampton County's 44.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Virginia as a whole averages 52.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Southampton County because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 7.7% of Southampton County residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 12.5% of Southampton County'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 Southampton County
- 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 SR-1313 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 46% of Southampton County is under tree cover (much heavier than most counties), and the dominant land cover is cultivated cropland. 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.
