Is My House in an Airport Noise Zone?Dulles, Reagan National and Leesburg zones for any Northern Virginia address
Type an address. See if it sits inside an official airport noise zone, how loud planes are there on the US DOT map, and what to check before you buy.
Udvar-Hazy Center, beside Dulles· Chantilly, Fairfax County
Zones: Loudoun County (2023), Fairfax County, MWAA. Pictures: artist’s renderings of real places.
Check an address
Type an address. See if planes come with it.
Your answer shows here
Type an address above and pick it from the list. A pin drops on the map and this panel tells you which zone it is in.
- DNL 75 or more
- DNL 70 to 75
- DNL 65 to 70 (Loudoun: 65 or more)
- DNL 60 to 65
- Within 1 mile of DNL 60 (Loudoun)
- MWAA’s Dulles DNL 60 and 65 lines
What does DNL 65 mean?
Every flight of the year is added up and spread over 24 hours. It is not the peak: one jet passing can be much louder for a few seconds.
It is the sound level outside the house. It is worked out with the FAA’s computer noise model from flight counts, routes and aircraft types, not read from a microphone at your door.4
Each flight between 10 PM and 7 AM gets a 10 dB penalty, so it weighs like ten daytime flights of the same sound.4
Manassas, Warrenton and Stafford have contour maps only as PDFs on the Virginia Department of Aviation site, so they are not drawn here. The US DOT layer models the flights of 2020 and shows nothing around those three airports; the Dulles zone lines are drawn for the airport’s planned future traffic, so they reach farther.
Pick the address from the list. The pin drops on the map below and the answer shows beside it. Shaded: the zones on the Loudoun and Fairfax zoning maps and Reagan National’s DNL 65 line. Dashed: MWAA’s own Dulles lines.
Updated October 22, 2026Zones: Loudoun 2023, Fairfax, MWAAAbout a 3-minute read, under the tool
Quick answer
Around Dulles, Loudoun and Fairfax counties draw official airport noise zones on their zoning maps: DNL 65 or more (Loudoun allows no new subdivisions there), DNL 60 to 65 (in Loudoun, new homes must be sound insulated to 45 dB inside), and in Loudoun a notice band 1 mile past the DNL 60 line.1 Reagan National’s official DNL 65 line falls mostly over the Potomac, and Leesburg has small zones of its own. Since July 1, 2025, Virginia’s seller disclosure statement tells buyers to check these maps themselves.5 Type an address above to see where it falls.
Airport noise in Northern Virginia, in six numbers
Loudoun and Fairfax zoning maps, MWAA, Virginia Code; checked October 22, 2026
DNL: the day-night average sound level over a year, in decibels. Loudoun writes it Ldn; it is the same measure.
What each zone means
Three rings around the runways, three sets of rules.
The closer the ring, the louder the yearly average and the stricter the rules for new homes. The rules are for new homes and additions; homes already built stay as they are.
In short: inside DNL 65, Loudoun allows no new subdivisions. Between 60 and 65, new homes need sound insulation and a written notice. In the 1-mile band, the notice alone.
Tap a ring: its row lights up in the table.
| Zone | Loudoun County (Dulles and Leesburg) | Fairfax County (Dulles) |
|---|---|---|
| DNL 65 or more | No new home subdivisions. A new home or addition on a lot recorded before the rule must meet the state building code’s sound insulation rules. | Zoning overlay bands at 65, 70 and 75, with noise rules for new homes and other noise-sensitive uses. |
| DNL 60 to 65 | New homes allowed if insulated so living spaces stay at or below 45 dB (yearly average, certified by a licensed acoustical engineer), with an overflight (avigation) easement and a noise notice in sales contracts, HOA documents, plats and deeds. | A noise area in the Comprehensive Plan, the county’s land use guide. |
| Within 1 mile of DNL 60 | A written noise notice in sales contracts, HOA documents, plats and deeds. | No band. |
Loudoun: Airport Impact Overlay District, zones updated January 17, 2023 from MWAA’s 2019 Dulles noise maps; Leesburg Executive zones from a 1985 study.1, 9 Fairfax: DNL 65, 70 and 75 in the Zoning Ordinance, DNL 60 to 75 in the Comprehensive Plan.2
The lines have dates
Note the date of the zone you are in. A line drawn in 1985 and a line drawn in 2023 are not the same promise.
- 1985Leesburg Executive’s noise study, still the basis of its zones 1, 9
- 2001Reagan National’s noise study draws its DNL 65 line 3
- 2018-19MWAA updates the Dulles noise maps for a future five-runway airport 3
- Jan 17, 2023Loudoun redraws its Dulles zones from those maps 1
- July 1, 2025Virginia’s seller disclosure starts pointing buyers to the noise maps 5
- Sep 25, 2026MWAA: runway work may bring more planes over some Loudoun communities through at least November 2026 7
- Oct 22, 2026Every line on this page checked
What DNL means
A year of flights, folded into one number.
DNL adds up every flight over a year and averages it across the day. Flights between 10 PM and 7 AM count 10 dB louder, because they wake people. That is why the dark bars below weigh more.
One night flight counts like ten daytime flights
after 10 PM=10 flights by day, same sound
The 10 dB night penalty, as the FAA’s DNL counts it.4
Each 10 dB step sounds about twice as loud
So DNL 65 is not a little louder than DNL 55. To the ear it is about twice, then twice again.4
Dark: night hours, 10 PM to 7 AM, counted 10 dB louder in DNL. Light: daytime. Use the switch to see the day without the penalty.4
Outside to inside. Ordinary walls and shut windows cut about 20 dB, the FAA expects. Loudoun requires new homes in its DNL 60 to 65 zone to reach 45 dB inside, certified by an acoustical engineer.4, 9
The plane noise ladder
The six levels of the US DOT plane noise layer you can switch on in the map above (24-hour average, flights of 2020).
- Not mapped Planes can still be heard now and then.
- Low Planes are heard, mostly faint.
- Moderate Planes are part of the background most days.
- Noticeable Close to a flight path. Easy to hear outdoors.
- Loud Under a busy flight path or near a runway.
- Very loud At the edge of a runway.
The airports, one by one
The airports in and around Northern Virginia, and which noise map each one has.
In short: only 3 of the 8 have official zones you can check on this page: Dulles, Reagan National and Leesburg. For Manassas, Warrenton and Stafford, open the state PDF.
Where each airport’s lines fall
- Official zones drawn on this page
- Contour map as a PDF on the state site
- Link only, zone stays in Maryland
- Separate military rules
- MWAA’s own Dulles lines
Zone shapes: Loudoun County (2023), Fairfax County and MWAA files, the same ones the address check uses. Town names for orientation only.
Washington Dulles International
MWAA’s DNL 60 and 65 lines for the future five-runway airport (2018-19 update), and Loudoun’s and Fairfax’s zoning zones drawn from them.
Official zones on this mapRonald Reagan Washington National
MWAA’s DNL 65 line from the airport’s 2001 noise study. It falls mostly over the Potomac; Fairfax County says no level above DNL 60 is projected inside the county.
Official line on this mapLeesburg Executive
Loudoun’s zones (Ldn 60, 65 and a 1-mile notice band), based on a 1985 study.
Official zones on this mapManassas Regional
A contour map as a PDF on the Virginia Department of Aviation site. Prince William’s airport overlay limits building heights, not noise.
PDF on the state siteWarrenton-Fauquier
A contour map as a PDF on the Virginia Department of Aviation site.
PDF on the state siteStafford Regional
A contour map as a PDF on the Virginia Department of Aviation site.
PDF on the state siteBaltimore/Washington International
Maryland’s noise zone, which stays in Anne Arundel and Howard counties, far from Virginia homes. Flight tracks on the Maryland Aviation Administration site.
Link onlyMilitary airfields
Quantico, Fort Belvoir’s Davison field and Joint Base Andrews have their own military noise studies. Virginia’s disclosure law has a separate line for homes in a military noise zone (Va. Code § 55.1-704).
Separate rulesBefore you buy
Five checks before an offer on a home near an airport.
Virginia puts the checking on the buyer: the required disclosure statement says the seller makes no promises about nearness to an airport or about aircraft noise, and points you to the maps.5
- Check the address above, and note the zone and its date.
- Watch the flights. MWAA’s WebTrak shows past flight tracks over any street, about an hour behind.6 Look at the hours you would be home and asleep.
- Visit twice: once at the morning departure push, once in the evening, windows open and shut.
- Ask about the house: window ratings, added insulation, and for newer Loudoun homes the airport noise notice and overflight easement in the deed and HOA documents.
- Think resale: the next buyer will see the same disclosure line and the same map.
Questions
What people ask about airport noise and buying a home.
How do I know if a house is in the Dulles airport noise zone?
Type the address into the box on this page. It checks the spot against Loudoun County's Airport Impact Overlay District, Fairfax County's airport noise area and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's (MWAA) noise lines, and reads the US DOT plane noise map there. For a sale, the county zoning office (Loudoun 703-777-0246) can confirm a parcel.
What do DNL 60 and DNL 65 mean?
DNL is the day-night average sound level: all the noise of a year averaged into one number, with each flight between 10 PM and 7 AM counted 10 decibels louder. Loudoun writes it Ldn; it is the same measure. Federal airport noise rules (14 CFR Part 150) treat homes inside DNL 65 as not compatible without sound insulation; Loudoun and Fairfax also draw a DNL 60 line. An average hides single loud flights, so a home outside a line can still hear planes clearly.
Does a Virginia seller have to disclose airport noise?
Virginia's required disclosure statement (Va. Code 55.1-703, amended in 2025, in effect since July 1, 2025) says the owner makes no promises about the home's nearness to a public use airport or about aircraft noise, and tells buyers to check for themselves, including the airport noise maps on the Virginia Department of Aviation website. So the checking is on the buyer. In Loudoun, homes built inside the overlay district carry a written airport noise notice in their sales contracts, HOA documents, plats and deeds, so look for it in the paperwork.
Are South Riding, Brambleton and Ashburn in the airport zone?
Parts of them. On Loudoun's 2023 map, the Ldn 60 to 65 zone and the 1-mile notice band cover parts of South Riding, Brambleton, Stone Ridge, Arcola and Ashburn, west and south of the airport. Lines cross neighborhoods, so check the exact address.
Does Reagan National have a noise zone over Virginia homes?
Its official DNL 65 line, from the airport's 2001 noise study, falls mostly over the Potomac River beside the airport. Planes following the river are still heard in Arlington and Alexandria; the US DOT layer on this map shows that spread.
Is my address saved?
No. The address goes to Virginia's own address service (VGIN) to find the spot, and the zone check runs in your browser against map files on this site. Nothing typed is stored.
Your next step
Near Dulles yourself? I know these streets.
Tell me the street you are looking at, or ask how airport noise plays into the price of your own home. I answer in English or Arabic, with real numbers, not a pitch.
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وكيلك العقاري الموثوق في شمال فرجينيا.
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