Noise Levels in Ames, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Ames
Quiet office to normal conversation
206
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
24% of Ames residents
87 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Ames 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 206 Ames residents, or 24.3%, live above that level. By land area, 36.3% of Ames is above 55 dBA.
63.7% below 55 dBA
36.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Ames compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Ames
Average noise levels for Ames residents, grouped by direction from the center of Ames. Eastern Ames carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Ames carries the lowest. Just 14% of residents in Southern Ames live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Eastern Ames.
Central Ames
46.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Eastern Ames
74.0 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Northern Ames
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Ames
44.6 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Western Ames
50.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Eastern Ames sounds about 667% louder than Southern Ames to the human ear, a 29.4 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 87 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 office.
At source
87 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
165 ft
73 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
660 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
¼ mile
49 dBA
Quiet office
½ mile
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 51% of Ames sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 5% 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 Ames. 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 Ames
The bar chart below shows the share of Ames residents in each noise band. About 65% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 15% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Ames Compares
Ames sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Ames's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with South Liberty, Batson, Wallisville, and Raywood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Ames's 51.2 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 Ames because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 24.3% of Ames 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, 36.3% of Ames'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 Ames
- 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 51% of Ames is under tree cover (heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is woody wetlands. 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.
