Noise Levels in East Cesar Chavez, Austin, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across East Cesar Chavez
Quiet office to normal conversation
946
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
37% of East Cesar Chavez residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across East Cesar Chavez 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 946 East Cesar Chavez residents, or 36.6%, live above that level. By land area, 48.8% of East Cesar Chavez is above 55 dBA.
51.2% below 55 dBA
48.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in East Cesar Chavez compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of East Cesar Chavez
Average noise levels for East Cesar Chavez residents, grouped by direction from the center of East Cesar Chavez. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern East Cesar Chavez; the lowest is in southeastern East Cesar Chavez, where just 17% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern East Cesar Chavez
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern East Cesar Chavez
56.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern East Cesar Chavez
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern East Cesar Chavez
50.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southeastern East Cesar Chavez
49.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northwestern East Cesar Chavez sounds about 79% louder than in southeastern East Cesar Chavez, a 8.4 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 US Hwy 290 do you need to be?
US Hwy 290 produces an estimated 78 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
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 5% of East Cesar Chavez sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 53% 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
Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) sits southeast of East Cesar Chavez. 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 East Cesar Chavez, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across East Cesar Chavez
The bar chart below shows the share of East Cesar Chavez residents in each noise band. About 75% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How East Cesar Chavez Compares
East Cesar Chavez sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how East Cesar Chavez's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Central East Austin, Govalle, Clarksville, and North University.
Average noise level (dBA)
East Cesar Chavez's 53.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than East Cesar Chavez because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 36.6% of East Cesar Chavez 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, 48.8% of East Cesar Chavez'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 East Cesar Chavez
- 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 290 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 5% of East Cesar Chavez is under tree cover (lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Austin-Bergstrom International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
