Noise Levels in Westhill, Bothell, WA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Westhill
Quiet office to normal conversation
908
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
23% of Westhill residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Westhill 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 908 Westhill residents, or 22.9%, live above that level. By land area, 18.7% of Westhill is above 55 dBA.
81.3% below 55 dBA
18.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Westhill compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Westhill
Average noise levels for Westhill residents, grouped by direction from the center of Westhill. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Westhill; the lowest is in northwestern Westhill, where just 24% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southern Westhill
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Westhill
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Westhill
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Westhill
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Westhill
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Westhill sounds about 13% louder than in northwestern Westhill, a 1.7 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 88TH Ave NE do you need to be?
88TH Ave NE 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
41 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 41% of Westhill sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 37% 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
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) sits south of Westhill. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Westhill, 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 Westhill
The bar chart below shows the share of Westhill residents in each noise band. About 74% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Westhill Compares
Westhill sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Westhill's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Canyon Park, Filbert-Winesap, Town Center, and Waynita-Simonds-Norway Hill.
Average noise level (dBA)
Westhill's 53.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Washington as a whole averages 51.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Westhill because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.9% of Westhill 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, 18.7% of Westhill's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Washington average of 27.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Westhill
- 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 88TH Ave NE 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 41% of Westhill 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. Seattle-Tacoma International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
