Noise Levels in Clear Lake Shores, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Clear Lake Shores
Quiet office
369
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
18% of Clear Lake Shores residents
70 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Clear Lake Shores 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 369 Clear Lake Shores residents, or 17.9%, live above that level. By land area, 12.8% of Clear Lake Shores is above 55 dBA.
87.2% below 55 dBA
12.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Clear Lake Shores compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Clear Lake Shores
Average noise levels for Clear Lake Shores residents, grouped by direction from the center of Clear Lake Shores. The highest population-weighted average is in central Clear Lake Shores; the lowest is in the Downtown Clear Lake Shores area (southwestern Clear Lake Shores), 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.
Central Clear Lake Shores
56.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Clear Lake Shores
56.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Clear Lake Shores
56.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Downtown Clear Lake Shores
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in central Clear Lake Shores sounds about 7% louder than in the Downtown Clear Lake Shores area (southwestern Clear Lake Shores), a 1.0 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
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 14% of Clear Lake Shores sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 33% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
William P Hobby (HOU) sits northwest of Clear Lake Shores. 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 Clear Lake Shores, 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 Clear Lake Shores
The bar chart below shows the share of Clear Lake Shores residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 1% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Clear Lake Shores Compares
Clear Lake Shores sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Clear Lake Shores's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Taylor Lake Village, El Lago, Kemah, and Beach City.
Average noise level (dBA)
Clear Lake Shores's 50.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Clear Lake Shores because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 17.9% of Clear Lake Shores 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, 12.8% of Clear Lake Shores'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 Clear Lake Shores
- 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 14% of Clear Lake Shores 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.
- Airport noise is directional. William P Hobby's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
