Noise Levels in Westvale, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Westvale
Quiet office to normal conversation
876
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
18% of Westvale residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Westvale 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 876 Westvale residents, or 18.0%, live above that level. By land area, 17.9% of Westvale is above 55 dBA.
82.1% below 55 dBA
17.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Westvale compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Westvale
Average noise levels for Westvale residents, grouped by direction from the center of Westvale. Central Westvale carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Westvale carries the lowest. Just 10% of residents in Southern Westvale live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Central Westvale.
Central Westvale
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Westvale
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Westvale
52.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Westvale
51.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western Westvale
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Westvale sounds about 11% louder than Southern Westvale to the human ear, a 1.5 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 76 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 42% of Westvale sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 23% 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
Syracuse Hancock International (SYR) sits northeast of Westvale. 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 Westvale, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Westvale
The bar chart below shows the share of Westvale residents in each noise band. About 80% 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 Westvale Compares
Westvale sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Westvale's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Solvay, Lyncourt, Mattydale, and Marcellus.
Average noise level (dBA)
Westvale's 52.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New York as a whole averages 55.4 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Westvale because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 18.0% of Westvale residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's in the middle of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 17.9% of Westvale's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New York average of 30.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Westvale
- 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 42% of Westvale is under tree cover (heavier than most 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Syracuse Hancock International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
