Noise Levels in 37350, TN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across 37350
Quiet office
325
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
17% of 37350 residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 37350 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 325 37350 residents, or 17.0%, live above that level. By land area, 17.3% of 37350 is above 55 dBA.
82.7% below 55 dBA
17.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 37350 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 37350
Average noise levels for 37350 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 37350. The highest population-weighted average is in northern 37350; the lowest is in southwestern 37350, where just 11% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northern 37350
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern 37350
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 37350
51.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 37350
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southwestern 37350
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northern 37350 sounds about 9% louder than in southwestern 37350, a 1.3 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 73 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
73 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
60 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 51% of 37350 sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 11% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of 37350. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
Airport Noise
Lovell Field (CHA) sits east of 37350. 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 37350, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 37350
The bar chart below shows the share of 37350 residents in each noise band. About 94% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 37350 Compares
37350 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 37350's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 37409, 37408, 37315, and 37410.
Average noise level (dBA)
37350's 50.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Tennessee as a whole averages 49.2 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 37350 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 17.0% of 37350 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, 17.3% of 37350's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Tennessee average of 18.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 37350
- 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 51% of 37350 is under tree cover (much heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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. Lovell Field's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
