Noise Levels in 66763, KS | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across 66763
Quiet office to normal conversation
616
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
21% of 66763 residents
88 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 66763 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 616 66763 residents, or 20.6%, live above that level. By land area, 22.0% of 66763 is above 55 dBA.
78.0% below 55 dBA
22.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 66763 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 66763
Average noise levels for 66763 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 66763. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern 66763; the lowest is in southwestern 66763, where just 13% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern 66763
65.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central 66763
62.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western 66763
59.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern 66763
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern 66763
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northeastern 66763 sounds about 72% louder than in southwestern 66763, a 7.8 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 E Mckay St do you need to be?
E Mckay St produces an estimated 53 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
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 12% of 66763 sits under tree canopy (lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 16% 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 66763. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 66763
The bar chart below shows the share of 66763 residents in each noise band. About 78% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 66763 Compares
66763 sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how 66763's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 66743, 66712, 66725, and 66739.
Average noise level (dBA)
66763's 51.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Kansas as a whole averages 51.2 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 66763 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 20.6% of 66763 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, 22.0% of 66763's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Kansas average of 19.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 66763
- 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 E Mckay St 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 12% of 66763 is under tree cover (lighter 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.
