Noise Levels in El Lago, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across El Lago
Quiet office to normal conversation
802
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of El Lago residents
57 dBA
Loudest residential point
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across El Lago 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 802 El Lago residents, or 26.3%, live above that level. By land area, 19.8% of El Lago is above 55 dBA.
80.2% below 55 dBA
19.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in El Lago compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of El Lago
Average noise levels for El Lago residents, grouped by direction from the center of El Lago. Northern El Lago carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern El Lago carries the lowest. Just 0% of residents in Southern El Lago live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Northern El Lago.
Central El Lago
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern El Lago
50.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northern El Lago
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern El Lago
48.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western El Lago
49.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern El Lago sounds about 48% louder than Southern El Lago to the human ear, 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 57 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
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
35 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 14% of El Lago sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 54% 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
William P Hobby (HOU) sits west of El Lago. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of El Lago, 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 El Lago
The bar chart below shows the share of El Lago residents in each noise band. About 96% 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 El Lago Compares
El Lago sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how El Lago's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Taylor Lake Village, Kemah, Clear Lake Shores, and Nassau Bay.
Average noise level (dBA)
El Lago's 51.4 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 El Lago because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 26.3% of El Lago 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, 19.8% of El Lago'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 El Lago
- 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 14% of El Lago is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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. William P Hobby's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
