Noise Levels in 78655, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
44 dBA
Average noise across 78655
Quiet suburban street at night
142
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
6% of 78655 residents
64 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 78655 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 142 78655 residents, or 5.7%, live above that level. By land area, 4.8% of 78655 is above 55 dBA.
95.2% below 55 dBA
4.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 78655 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 78655
Average noise levels for 78655 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 78655. The highest population-weighted average is in southern 78655; the lowest is in northwestern 78655, where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southern 78655
48.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Eastern 78655
44.5 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Northern 78655
44.3 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Northwestern 78655
44.1 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in southern 78655 sounds about 33% louder than in northwestern 78655, a 4.1 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 64 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
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 3% of 78655 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 6% 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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Airport Noise
Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) sits northeast of 78655. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 78655, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 78655
The bar chart below shows the share of 78655 residents in each noise band. About 98% 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 78655 Compares
78655 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 78655's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 78656, 78638, 78662, and 78123.
Average noise level (dBA)
78655's 43.6 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 78655 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 5.7% of 78655 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, 4.8% of 78655'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 78655
- 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 3% of 78655 is under tree cover (much 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Austin-Bergstrom International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
