Noise Levels in Brandywine, Broomfield, CO | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Brandywine
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,147
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
30% of Brandywine residents
66 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Brandywine 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 1,147 Brandywine residents, or 30.4%, live above that level. By land area, 33.2% of Brandywine is above 55 dBA.
66.8% below 55 dBA
33.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Brandywine compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Brandywine
Average noise levels for Brandywine residents, grouped by direction from the center of Brandywine. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Brandywine; the lowest is in southeastern Brandywine, where just 33% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southern Brandywine
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Brandywine
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Brandywine
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Brandywine
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Brandywine
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Brandywine sounds about 27% louder than in southeastern Brandywine, a 3.4 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 66 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
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 9% of Brandywine sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 52% 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 east of Brandywine. 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 Brandywine, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Brandywine
The bar chart below shows the share of Brandywine residents in each noise band. About 71% 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 Brandywine Compares
Brandywine sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Brandywine's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Allendale Area, Village at North Hills, Whittier, and Regis.
Average noise level (dBA)
Brandywine's 53.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Colorado as a whole averages 51.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Brandywine because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 30.4% of Brandywine residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 33.2% of Brandywine'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 Brandywine
- 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 9% of Brandywine 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. Denver International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
