Noise Levels in Squirrel Hill North, Pittsburgh, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Squirrel Hill North
Quiet office to normal conversation
4,570
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
40% of Squirrel Hill North residents
65 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Squirrel Hill North 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 4,570 Squirrel Hill North residents, or 40.4%, live above that level. By land area, 43.0% of Squirrel Hill North is above 55 dBA.
57.0% below 55 dBA
43.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Squirrel Hill North compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Squirrel Hill North
Average noise levels for Squirrel Hill North residents, grouped by direction from the center of Squirrel Hill North. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Squirrel Hill North; the lowest is in northeastern Squirrel Hill North, where just 38% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Squirrel Hill North
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Squirrel Hill North
57.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Squirrel Hill North
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Squirrel Hill North
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Squirrel Hill North
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Squirrel Hill North sounds about 18% louder than in northeastern Squirrel Hill North, a 2.4 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 Ahrx Northumberland St do you need to be?
Ahrx Northumberland St 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
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
35 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 25% of Squirrel Hill North sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 41% 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 Squirrel Hill North. 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.
Airport Noise
Pittsburgh International (PIT) sits west of Squirrel Hill North. 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 Squirrel Hill North, 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 Squirrel Hill North
The bar chart below shows the share of Squirrel Hill North residents in each noise band. About 35% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 10% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Squirrel Hill North Compares
Squirrel Hill North sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Squirrel Hill North's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Shadyside, Carrick, Squirrel Hill South, and Brookline.
Average noise level (dBA)
Squirrel Hill North's 55.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Pennsylvania as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Squirrel Hill North because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 40.4% of Squirrel Hill North 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, 43.0% of Squirrel Hill North's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Pennsylvania average of 33.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Squirrel Hill North
- 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 Ahrx Northumberland St 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 25% of Squirrel Hill North is under tree cover (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. Pittsburgh International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
