Noise Levels in Denison, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
50 dBA
Average noise across Denison
Quiet office
4,204
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
20% of Denison residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Denison 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 4,204 Denison residents, or 19.8%, live above that level. By land area, 28.8% of Denison is above 55 dBA.
71.2% below 55 dBA
28.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Denison compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Denison
Average noise levels for Denison residents, grouped by direction from the center of Denison. Central Denison carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern Denison carries the lowest. Just 17% of residents in Eastern Denison live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Central Denison.
Central Denison
53.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Denison
48.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Denison
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Denison
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Denison
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Central Denison sounds about 42% louder than Eastern Denison to the human ear, a 5.1 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 US Hwy 75 do you need to be?
US Hwy 75 produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 24% of Denison sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 22% 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 Denison. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Denison
The bar chart below shows the share of Denison residents in each noise band. About 80% 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 Denison Compares
Denison sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Denison's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Sherman, Anna, Aubrey, and Gainesville.
Average noise level (dBA)
Denison's 49.6 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 Denison because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 19.8% of Denison 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, 28.8% of Denison'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 Denison
- 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 US Hwy 75 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 24% of Denison is under tree cover (about average for cities), 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.
