Noise Levels in Academy Acres North, Albuquerque, NM | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Academy Acres North
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,866
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
34% of Academy Acres North residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Academy Acres North 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 1,866 Academy Acres North residents, or 33.6%, live above that level. By land area, 49.8% of Academy Acres North is above 55 dBA.
50.2% below 55 dBA
49.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Academy Acres North compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Academy Acres North
Average noise levels for Academy Acres North residents, grouped by direction from the center of Academy Acres North. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Academy Acres North; the lowest is in southern Academy Acres North, where just 36% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Academy Acres North
61.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Academy Acres North
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Academy Acres North
58.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Academy Acres North
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Academy Acres North
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Academy Acres North sounds about 79% louder than in southern Academy Acres North, a 8.4 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-25 do you need to be?
I-25 produces an estimated 71 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
71 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 8% of Academy Acres North sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 54% 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
Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) sits south of Academy Acres North. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Academy Acres North, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Academy Acres North
The bar chart below shows the share of Academy Acres North residents in each noise band. About 67% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 6% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Academy Acres North Compares
Academy Acres North sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Academy Acres North's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Del Norte, Nor Este, Hodgin, and Near N Valley.
Average noise level (dBA)
Academy Acres North's 53.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New Mexico as a whole averages 51.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Academy Acres North because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 33.6% of Academy Acres North 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, 49.8% of Academy Acres North's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Mexico average of 19.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Academy Acres North
- 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-25 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 8% of Academy Acres North is under tree cover (lighter than most neighborhoods), 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. Albuquerque International Sunport's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
