Noise Levels in Stanwood Park, South Portland, ME | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Stanwood Park
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,168
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
27% of Stanwood Park residents
66 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Stanwood Park 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 1,168 Stanwood Park residents, or 27.1%, live above that level. By land area, 35.0% of Stanwood Park is above 55 dBA.
65.0% below 55 dBA
35.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Stanwood Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Stanwood Park
Average noise levels for Stanwood Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Stanwood Park. Northern Stanwood Park carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Stanwood Park carries the lowest. Just 10% of residents in Southern Stanwood Park live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in Northern Stanwood Park.
Central Stanwood Park
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Stanwood Park
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Stanwood Park
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Stanwood Park
48.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Stanwood Park
51.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Stanwood Park sounds about 60% louder than Southern Stanwood Park to the human ear, a 6.8 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 Rd Inv 05 80320 do you need to be?
Rd Inv 05 80320 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
36 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 47% of Stanwood Park sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 32% 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
Portland International Jetport (PWM) sits northwest of Stanwood Park. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Stanwood Park, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Stanwood Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Stanwood Park residents in each noise band. About 68% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 4% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Stanwood Park Compares
Stanwood Park sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Stanwood Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Rosemont, Frenchtown, West End, and Parkside.
Average noise level (dBA)
Stanwood Park's 52.6 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Maine as a whole averages 48.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Stanwood Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 27.1% of Stanwood Park 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, 35.0% of Stanwood Park's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maine average of 17.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Stanwood Park
- 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 Rd Inv 05 80320 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 47% of Stanwood Park is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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. Portland International Jetport's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
