Noise Levels in East Houston, Houston, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
50 dBA
Average noise across East Houston
Quiet office
1,536
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
22% of East Houston residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across East Houston 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 1,536 East Houston residents, or 21.6%, live above that level. By land area, 26.6% of East Houston is above 55 dBA.
73.4% below 55 dBA
26.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in East Houston compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of East Houston
Average noise levels for East Houston residents, grouped by direction from the center of East Houston. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern East Houston; the lowest is in eastern East Houston, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern East Houston
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern East Houston
54.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern East Houston
52.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central East Houston
49.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Eastern East Houston
48.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southwestern East Houston sounds about 48% louder than in eastern East Houston, a 5.7 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 69 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
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 19% of East Houston sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 34% 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 East Houston. 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 northwest of East Houston. 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 Houston, particularly to the southeast, 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 Houston
The bar chart below shows the share of East Houston residents in each noise band. About 85% 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 East Houston Compares
East Houston sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how East Houston's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Independence Heights, Trinity-Houston Gardens, Downtown Pasadena, and East Little York-Homestead.
Average noise level (dBA)
East Houston's 50.3 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 East Houston because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 21.6% of East Houston 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, 26.6% of East Houston'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 Houston
- 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 19% of East Houston 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. George Bush Intcntl/Houston's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
