Noise Levels in Depot Bench, Boise, ID | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Depot Bench
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,061
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
32% of Depot Bench residents
68 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Depot Bench 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 2,061 Depot Bench residents, or 32.0%, live above that level. By land area, 36.9% of Depot Bench is above 55 dBA.
63.1% below 55 dBA
36.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Depot Bench compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Depot Bench
Average noise levels for Depot Bench residents, grouped by direction from the center of Depot Bench. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Depot Bench; the lowest is in southwestern Depot Bench, where just 29% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northern Depot Bench
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Depot Bench
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Depot Bench
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Depot Bench
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Depot Bench
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern Depot Bench sounds about 35% louder than in southwestern Depot Bench, a 4.3 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 Overland do you need to be?
Overland produces an estimated 66 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
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 12% of Depot Bench sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 38% 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 Depot Bench. 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
Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field (BOI) sits south of Depot Bench. 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 Depot Bench, 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 Depot Bench
The bar chart below shows the share of Depot Bench residents in each noise band. About 79% 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 Depot Bench Compares
Depot Bench sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Depot Bench's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Winstead Park, Franklin Randolph, North End, and East End.
Average noise level (dBA)
Depot Bench's 53.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Idaho as a whole averages 50.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Depot Bench because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 32.0% of Depot Bench 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, 36.9% of Depot Bench's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Idaho average of 17.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Depot Bench
- 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 Overland 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 12% of Depot Bench is under tree cover (about average for 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. Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
