Noise Levels in West Wyoming, PA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across West Wyoming
Quiet office to normal conversation
683
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
27% of West Wyoming residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across West Wyoming 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 683 West Wyoming residents, or 27.1%, live above that level. By land area, 37.4% of West Wyoming is above 55 dBA.
62.6% below 55 dBA
37.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in West Wyoming compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of West Wyoming
Average noise levels for West Wyoming residents, grouped by direction from the center of West Wyoming. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern West Wyoming; the lowest is in northwestern West Wyoming, where just 5% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern West Wyoming
59.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern West Wyoming
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central West Wyoming
51.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northwestern West Wyoming
47.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southwestern West Wyoming sounds about 136% louder than in northwestern West Wyoming, a 12.4 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 Shoemaker Av do you need to be?
Shoemaker Av 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 31% of West Wyoming sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 25% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of West Wyoming. 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 West Wyoming
The bar chart below shows the share of West Wyoming residents in each noise band. About 71% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How West Wyoming Compares
West Wyoming sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how West Wyoming's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Luzerne, Avoca, Dupont, and Ashley.
Average noise level (dBA)
West Wyoming's 52.8 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 West Wyoming because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 27.1% of West Wyoming 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, 37.4% of West Wyoming'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 West Wyoming
- 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 Shoemaker Av 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 West Wyoming is under tree cover (about average for cities), 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.
