Noise Levels in Urbana, MD | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Urbana
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,085
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
24% of Urbana residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Urbana 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 2,085 Urbana residents, or 23.6%, live above that level. By land area, 28.4% of Urbana is above 55 dBA.
71.6% below 55 dBA
28.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Urbana compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Urbana
Average noise levels for Urbana residents, grouped by direction from the center of Urbana. Southern Urbana carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern Urbana carries the lowest. Just 7% of residents in Northern Urbana live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in Southern Urbana.
Central Urbana
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Eastern Urbana
51.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northern Urbana
49.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southern Urbana
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Urbana
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Urbana sounds about 45% louder than Northern Urbana to the human ear, a 5.4 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 Washington National Pike do you need to be?
Washington National Pike produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 31% of Urbana sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Washington Dulles International (IAD) sits south of Urbana. 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 Urbana, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Urbana
The bar chart below shows the share of Urbana residents in each noise band. About 75% 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 Urbana Compares
Urbana sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Urbana's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Monrovia, Linganore, Ijamsville, and Walkersville.
Average noise level (dBA)
Urbana's 51.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Maryland as a whole averages 52.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Urbana because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 23.6% of Urbana 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, 28.4% of Urbana's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Maryland average of 32.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Urbana
- 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 Washington National Pike 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 31% of Urbana is under tree cover (about average for 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. Washington Dulles International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
