Noise Levels in Wilmington Manor, DE | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Wilmington Manor
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
5,176
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
69% of Wilmington Manor residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Wilmington Manor 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 5,176 Wilmington Manor residents, or 68.9%, live above that level. By land area, 73.2% of Wilmington Manor is above 55 dBA.
26.8% below 55 dBA
73.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Wilmington Manor compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Wilmington Manor
Average noise levels for Wilmington Manor residents, grouped by direction from the center of Wilmington Manor. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Wilmington Manor; the lowest is in southern Wilmington Manor, where just 45% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northern Wilmington Manor
67.1 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northwestern Wilmington Manor
62.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Wilmington Manor
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Wilmington Manor
58.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Wilmington Manor
57.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northern Wilmington Manor sounds about 89% louder than in southern Wilmington Manor, a 9.2 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 I-295 do you need to be?
I-295 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 24% of Wilmington Manor sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 46% 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
Philadelphia International (PHL) sits northeast of Wilmington Manor. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Wilmington Manor, 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 Wilmington Manor
The bar chart below shows the share of Wilmington Manor residents in each noise band. About 7% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 37% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Wilmington Manor Compares
Wilmington Manor sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Wilmington Manor's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Glasgow, Edgemoor, Elsmere, and Brookside.
Average noise level (dBA)
Wilmington Manor's 58.9 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Delaware as a whole averages 53.5 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Wilmington Manor because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 68.9% of Wilmington Manor 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, 73.2% of Wilmington Manor's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Delaware average of 38.3% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Wilmington Manor
- 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 I-295 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 24% of Wilmington Manor 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Philadelphia International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
