Noise Levels in Andrews County, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
49 dBA
Average noise across Andrews County
Quiet office
1,757
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
16% of Andrews County residents
71 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Andrews County 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 1,757 Andrews County residents, or 16.0%, live above that level. By land area, 11.1% of Andrews County is above 55 dBA.
88.9% below 55 dBA
11.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Andrews County compares to similar-sized counties.
Noise by Part of Andrews County
Average noise levels for Andrews County residents, grouped by direction from the center of Andrews County. The highest population-weighted average is in central Andrews County; the lowest is in southeastern Andrews County, where just 3% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Central Andrews County
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Andrews County
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Andrews County
48.7 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Eastern Andrews County
45.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southeastern Andrews County
44.2 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in central Andrews County sounds about 107% louder than in southeastern Andrews County, a 10.5 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 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
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
49 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 0% of Andrews County sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most counties) and roughly 26% 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 Andrews County. 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 Andrews County
The bar chart below shows the share of Andrews County residents in each noise band. About 88% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Andrews County Compares
Andrews County sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Andrews County's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Gaines County, Dawson County, Ward County, and Terry County.
Average noise level (dBA)
Andrews County's 48.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Andrews County because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 16.0% of Andrews County 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, 11.1% of Andrews County'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 Andrews County
- 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 0% of Andrews County is under tree cover (much lighter than most counties), 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.
