Noise Levels in 80246, CO | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across 80246
Quiet office to normal conversation
4,176
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
38% of 80246 residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 80246 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 4,176 80246 residents, or 37.5%, live above that level. By land area, 51.9% of 80246 is above 55 dBA.
48.1% below 55 dBA
51.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 80246 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 80246
Average noise levels for 80246 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 80246. The highest population-weighted average is in northern 80246; the lowest is in southeastern 80246, where just 21% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northern 80246
59.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern 80246
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern 80246
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 80246
52.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern 80246
50.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northern 80246 sounds about 83% louder than in southeastern 80246, a 8.7 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 SH-2 do you need to be?
SH-2 produces an estimated 69 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
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 5% of 80246 sits under tree canopy (lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 62% 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
Denver International (DEN) sits northeast of 80246. 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 80246, 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 80246
The bar chart below shows the share of 80246 residents in each noise band. About 64% 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 80246 Compares
80246 sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how 80246's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 80216, 80230, 80224, and 80218.
Average noise level (dBA)
80246's 52.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Colorado as a whole averages 51.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 80246 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 37.5% of 80246 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, 51.9% of 80246's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Colorado average of 25.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 80246
- 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 SH-2 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 5% of 80246 is under tree cover (lighter than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Denver International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
