Noise Levels in China Grove, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
49 dBA
Average noise across China Grove
Quiet office
75
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
5% of China Grove residents
70 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across China Grove 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 75 China Grove residents, or 5.4%, live above that level. By land area, 10.3% of China Grove is above 55 dBA.
89.7% below 55 dBA
10.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in China Grove compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of China Grove
Average noise levels for China Grove residents, grouped by direction from the center of China Grove. Central China Grove carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern China Grove carries the lowest. Just 1% of residents in Eastern China Grove live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Central China Grove.
Central China Grove
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern China Grove
43.4 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Northern China Grove
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern China Grove
46.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Central China Grove sounds about 91% louder than Eastern China Grove to the human ear, a 9.3 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 70 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
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
44 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 0% of China Grove sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most cities) and roughly 7% 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
San Antonio International (SAT) sits northwest of China Grove. 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 China Grove, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across China Grove
The bar chart below shows the share of China Grove residents in each noise band. About 98% 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 China Grove Compares
China Grove sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how China Grove's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Saspamco, Graytown, Geronimo, and Olmos Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
China Grove's 49.0 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 China Grove because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 5.4% of China Grove 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, 10.3% of China Grove'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 China Grove
- 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 China Grove is under tree cover (much lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is shrub / scrub. 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. San Antonio International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
