Seattle, WA Noise Levels
Noise levels in Seattle, WA
At 47.5 dB(A), Seattle, WA falls inside HUD's "Acceptable" noise zone, 65 dB(A) day-night average or below under 24 CFR 51.104, the federal government's own line for building housing with no extra sound attenuation required. The main source is aircraft, well ahead of the other two modes BTS tracks. This describes Seattle as a whole, not a specific block, the underlying BTS map resolves to about 38 meters per pixel, sampled at the town's own center point.
Where Seattle's noise comes from
BTS models these three sources separately before combining them, so a place can be quiet on two and loud on the third.
If you're weighing a move to Seattle
Aircraft noise is intermittent and lower-frequency, which is why FAA’s Part 150 program funds whole-envelope sound insulation for homes inside an airport’s own mapped noise contour rather than relying on window replacement alone.
How Seattle compares nationally
Seattle ranks 1,777 of 3,622 measured places nationally, 1 being the loudest this dataset covers. By population, it ranks 20 of the 12,137 places in this dataset, home to about 780,995 people.
Checking one address in Seattle
Seattle's figure above is a town-wide reading. For one exact address, BTS's own map is the free, authoritative source.
Where Seattle's figures come from
Every dB(A) figure on this page traces to a named BTS dataset, documented in the methodology guide. The guide to what actually cuts each kind of noise explains why aircraft calls for a different fix than the other two sources.