Noise Levels in Surfside, FL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Surfside
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,501
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
73% of Surfside residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Surfside 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 3,501 Surfside residents, or 72.8%, live above that level. By land area, 59.5% of Surfside is above 55 dBA.
40.5% below 55 dBA
59.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Surfside compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Surfside
Average noise levels for Surfside residents, grouped by direction from the center of Surfside. Central Surfside carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Surfside carries the lowest. Just 66% of residents in Western Surfside live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Central Surfside.
Central Surfside
59.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Surfside
58.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Surfside
58.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Surfside
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Surfside sounds about 55% louder than Western Surfside to the human ear, a 6.3 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 do you need to be?
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
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
43 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 6% of Surfside sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 62% 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
Miami International (MIA) sits southwest of Surfside. 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 Surfside, 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 Surfside
The bar chart below shows the share of Surfside residents in each noise band. About 19% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 43% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Surfside Compares
Surfside sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Surfside's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Bay Harbor Islands, Ojus, Pembroke Park, and Bal Harbour.
Average noise level (dBA)
Surfside's 59.2 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Florida as a whole averages 51.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Surfside because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 72.8% of Surfside residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 59.5% of Surfside's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Florida average of 31.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Surfside
- 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 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 6% of Surfside is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Miami International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
