Noise Levels in Clifton Heights, Louisville, KY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Clifton Heights
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,937
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
39% of Clifton Heights residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Clifton Heights 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 1,937 Clifton Heights residents, or 39.3%, live above that level. By land area, 42.0% of Clifton Heights is above 55 dBA.
58.0% below 55 dBA
42.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Clifton Heights compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Clifton Heights
Average noise levels for Clifton Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Clifton Heights. The highest population-weighted average is in western Clifton Heights; the lowest is in northern Clifton Heights, where just 27% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Western Clifton Heights
59.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Clifton Heights
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Clifton Heights
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Clifton Heights
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in western Clifton Heights sounds about 49% louder than in northern Clifton Heights, a 5.8 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 Mellwood Ave do you need to be?
Mellwood Ave produces an estimated 55 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
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
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 21% of Clifton Heights sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 46% 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
Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF) sits south of Clifton Heights. 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 Clifton Heights, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Clifton Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Clifton Heights residents in each noise band. About 57% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 9% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Clifton Heights Compares
Clifton Heights sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Clifton Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Phoenix Hill, Parkland, Taylor Berry, and Belknap.
Average noise level (dBA)
Clifton Heights's 55.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Kentucky as a whole averages 50.5 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Clifton Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 39.3% of Clifton Heights 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, 42.0% of Clifton Heights's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Kentucky average of 23.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Clifton Heights
- 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 Mellwood Ave 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 21% of Clifton Heights is under tree cover (heavier 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. Louisville Muhammad Ali International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
