Noise Levels in Barksdale Afb, LA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
39 dBA
Average noise across Barksdale Afb
Soft rainfall
81
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
7% of Barksdale Afb residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Barksdale Afb 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 81 Barksdale Afb residents, or 6.9%, live above that level. By land area, 15.8% of Barksdale Afb is above 55 dBA.
84.2% below 55 dBA
15.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Barksdale Afb compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Barksdale Afb
Average noise levels for Barksdale Afb residents, grouped by direction from the center of Barksdale Afb. The highest population-weighted average is in western Barksdale Afb; the lowest is in eastern Barksdale Afb, where just 0% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Western Barksdale Afb
52.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Barksdale Afb
42.0 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Eastern Barksdale Afb
34.9 dBA · Quiet
Soft rainfall
To the human ear, noise in western Barksdale Afb sounds about 234% louder than in eastern Barksdale Afb, a 17.4 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-20 do you need to be?
I-20 produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 20% of Barksdale Afb sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 38% 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 Barksdale Afb. 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 Barksdale Afb
The bar chart below shows the share of Barksdale Afb residents in each noise band. About 94% 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 Barksdale Afb Compares
Barksdale Afb sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Barksdale Afb's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Sligo, Elm Grove, Forbing, and Koran.
Average noise level (dBA)
Barksdale Afb's 38.6 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Louisiana as a whole averages 50.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Barksdale Afb because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 6.9% of Barksdale Afb 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, 15.8% of Barksdale Afb's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Louisiana average of 28.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Barksdale Afb
- 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-20 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 20% of Barksdale Afb is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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.
