Noise Levels in Castle Manor, Milwaukee, WI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across Castle Manor
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,247
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
86% of Castle Manor residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Castle Manor 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 3,247 Castle Manor residents, or 85.6%, live above that level. By land area, 80.1% of Castle Manor is above 55 dBA.
19.9% below 55 dBA
80.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Castle Manor compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Castle Manor
Average noise levels for Castle Manor residents, grouped by direction from the center of Castle Manor. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Castle Manor; the lowest is in southwestern Castle Manor, where just 83% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Castle Manor
71.2 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Central Castle Manor
65.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southwestern Castle Manor
62.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Castle Manor sounds about 85% louder than in southwestern Castle Manor, a 8.9 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 82 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 suburban street at night.
At source
82 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
165 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 10% of Castle Manor sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 64% 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
General Mitchell International (MKE) sits east of Castle Manor. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Castle Manor, 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 Castle Manor
The bar chart below shows the share of Castle Manor residents in each noise band. About 11% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 57% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Castle Manor Compares
Castle Manor sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Castle Manor's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Mitchell West, Southpoint, Silver City, and Forest Home Hills.
Average noise level (dBA)
Castle Manor's 60.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Wisconsin as a whole averages 53.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Castle Manor because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 85.6% of Castle Manor 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, 80.1% of Castle Manor's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Wisconsin average of 29.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Castle Manor
- 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 10% of Castle Manor 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. General Mitchell International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
