Noise Levels in Caprock, Lubbock, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
48 dBA
Average noise across Caprock
Quiet office
451
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
24% of Caprock residents
61 dBA
Loudest residential point
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Caprock 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 451 Caprock residents, or 23.8%, live above that level. By land area, 26.7% of Caprock is above 55 dBA.
73.3% below 55 dBA
26.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Caprock compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Caprock
Average noise levels for Caprock residents, grouped by direction from the center of Caprock. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Caprock; the lowest is in northeastern Caprock, where just 24% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Caprock
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Caprock
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Caprock
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Caprock
51.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Caprock sounds about 34% louder than in northeastern Caprock, a 4.2 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 State Loop 289 do you need to be?
State Loop 289 produces an estimated 76 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
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 4% of Caprock sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 49% 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
Lubbock Preston Smith International (LBB) sits north of Caprock. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Caprock, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Caprock
The bar chart below shows the share of Caprock residents in each noise band. About 79% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Caprock Compares
Caprock sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Caprock's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Waters, University Pines, Wester, and wheelock-and-monterey-lubbock-tx.
Average noise level (dBA)
Caprock's 48.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Caprock because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 23.8% of Caprock 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, 26.7% of Caprock'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 Caprock
- 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 State Loop 289 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 4% of Caprock is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Lubbock Preston Smith International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
