Noise Levels in Dayton, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
46 dBA
Average noise across Dayton
Quiet suburban street at night
1,799
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
9% of Dayton residents
98 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Dayton 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 1,799 Dayton residents, or 9.1%, live above that level. By land area, 14.3% of Dayton is above 55 dBA.
85.7% below 55 dBA
14.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Dayton compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Dayton
Average noise levels for Dayton residents, grouped by direction from the center of Dayton. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Dayton; the lowest is in northwestern Dayton, where just 0% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Dayton
62.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern Dayton
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Dayton
53.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Dayton
47.7 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northwestern Dayton
40.1 dBA · Quiet
Soft rainfall
To the human ear, noise in southern Dayton sounds about 363% louder than in northwestern Dayton, a 22.1 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 98 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 normal conversation an arm’s length away.
At source
98 dBA
Power saw
165 ft
84 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
330 ft
76 dBA
City bus interior
660 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
¼ mile
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
½ mile
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 30% of Dayton sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 16% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Dayton. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
Airport Noise
George Bush Intcntl/Houston (IAH) sits west of Dayton. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Dayton, particularly to the east, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Dayton
The bar chart below shows the share of Dayton residents in each noise band. About 92% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Dayton Compares
Dayton sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Dayton's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Crosby, Mont Belvieu, New Caney, and Huffman.
Average noise level (dBA)
Dayton's 46.0 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 Dayton because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 9.1% of Dayton residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 14.3% of Dayton'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 Dayton
- 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 30% of Dayton is under tree cover (about average for cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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. George Bush Intcntl/Houston's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
