Noise Levels in Willert Park, Buffalo, NY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Willert Park
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,961
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
58% of Willert Park residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Willert Park 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 1,961 Willert Park residents, or 58.0%, live above that level. By land area, 62.8% of Willert Park is above 55 dBA.
37.2% below 55 dBA
62.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Willert Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Willert Park
Average noise levels for Willert Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Willert Park. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Willert Park; the lowest is in southern Willert Park, where just 44% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northern Willert Park
70.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northwestern Willert Park
70.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Willert Park
59.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Willert Park
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Willert Park
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern Willert Park sounds about 177% louder than in southern Willert Park, a 14.7 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 81 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
81 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 7% of Willert Park sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 56% 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
Buffalo Niagara International (BUF) sits northeast of Willert Park. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Willert Park, 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 Willert Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Willert Park residents in each noise band. About 24% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 23% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Willert Park Compares
Willert Park sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Willert Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Larkinville, Babcock, Seneca, and Mlk Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Willert Park's 58.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder 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 Willert Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 58.0% of Willert Park 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, 62.8% of Willert Park'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 Willert Park
- 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 7% of Willert Park is under tree cover (lighter than most neighborhoods), 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. Buffalo Niagara International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
