Noise Levels in 76687, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
43 dBA
Average noise across 76687
Quiet suburban street at night
96
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
7% of 76687 residents
85 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 76687 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 96 76687 residents, or 7.4%, live above that level. By land area, 10.5% of 76687 is above 55 dBA.
89.5% below 55 dBA
10.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 76687 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 76687
Average noise levels for 76687 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 76687. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 76687; the lowest is in southeastern 76687, where just 1% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 76687
50.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Eastern 76687
50.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southeastern 76687
44.2 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 76687 sounds about 53% louder than in southeastern 76687, a 6.1 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 85 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 quiet office.
At source
85 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
165 ft
72 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
660 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
¼ mile
51 dBA
Quiet office
½ mile
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 11% of 76687 sits under tree canopy (lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 5% 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 76687. 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 76687
The bar chart below shows the share of 76687 residents in each noise band. About 89% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 4% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 76687 Compares
76687 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 76687's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 76629, 77865, 76653, and 75846.
Average noise level (dBA)
76687's 43.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 76687 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 7.4% of 76687 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, 10.5% of 76687's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Texas average of 22.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 76687
- 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 11% of 76687 is under tree cover (lighter than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is pasture / hay. 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.
