Noise Levels in Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis, Honolulu, HI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
10,774
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
55% of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis residents
83 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis 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 10,774 Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis residents, or 55.3%, live above that level. By land area, 61.9% of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis is above 55 dBA.
38.1% below 55 dBA
61.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
Average noise levels for Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis residents, grouped by direction from the center of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis; the lowest is in northeastern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis, where just 29% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
65.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
64.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
56.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis sounds about 106% louder than in northeastern Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis, a 10.4 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 St Louis Dr do you need to be?
St Louis Dr produces an estimated 61 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
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
40 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 0% of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 0% 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
Daniel K Inouye International (HNL) sits west of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis, 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 Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
The bar chart below shows the share of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis residents in each noise band. About 31% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 34% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis Compares
Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Waikiki, Manoa, Kaimuki, and Liliha-Kapalama.
Average noise level (dBA)
Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis's 58.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Hawaii as a whole averages 54.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 55.3% of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis 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, 61.9% of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Hawaii average of 34.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis
- 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 St Louis Dr 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 0% of Diamond Head-Kapahulu-St Louis is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is . 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. Daniel K Inouye International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
