Noise Levels in 78572, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across 78572
Quiet office to normal conversation
15,421
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
29% of 78572 residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 78572 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 15,421 78572 residents, or 28.9%, live above that level. By land area, 35.4% of 78572 is above 55 dBA.
64.6% below 55 dBA
35.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 78572 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 78572
Average noise levels for 78572 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 78572. The highest population-weighted average is in central 78572; the lowest is in western 78572, where just 15% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Central 78572
65.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern 78572
58.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern 78572
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern 78572
50.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western 78572
50.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in central 78572 sounds about 199% louder than in western 78572, a 15.8 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 US Hwy 83 do you need to be?
US Hwy 83 produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 2% of 78572 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 42% 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 78572. 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
Mcallen International (MFE) sits east of 78572. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 78572, 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 78572
The bar chart below shows the share of 78572 residents in each noise band. About 71% 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 78572 Compares
78572 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 78572's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 78574, 78577, 78504, and 78501.
Average noise level (dBA)
78572's 52.6 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 78572 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 28.9% of 78572 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, 35.4% of 78572'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 78572
- 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 US Hwy 83 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 2% of 78572 is under tree cover (much lighter than most 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Mcallen International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
