Noise Levels in 77707, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across 77707
Quiet office to normal conversation
4,539
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
36% of 77707 residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 77707 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 4,539 77707 residents, or 35.9%, live above that level. By land area, 34.7% of 77707 is above 55 dBA.
65.3% below 55 dBA
34.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 77707 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 77707
Average noise levels for 77707 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 77707. The highest population-weighted average is in northern 77707; the lowest is in southwestern 77707, where just 11% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Northern 77707
68.5 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern 77707
63.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern 77707
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central 77707
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern 77707
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern 77707 sounds about 177% louder than in southwestern 77707, a 14.7 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 I-10 do you need to be?
I-10 produces an estimated 78 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 suburban street at night.
At source
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 19% of 77707 sits under tree canopy (about average for zip codes) and roughly 30% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of 77707. 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 77707
The bar chart below shows the share of 77707 residents in each noise band. About 64% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 77707 Compares
77707 sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how 77707's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 77713, 77627, 77708, and 77619.
Average noise level (dBA)
77707's 53.5 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 77707 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 35.9% of 77707 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 34.7% of 77707'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 77707
- 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 I-10 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 19% of 77707 is under tree cover (about average for zip codes), and the dominant land cover is low-intensity developed land. 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.
