Noise Levels in Embudo Canyon, Albuquerque, NM | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Embudo Canyon
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,049
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
30% of Embudo Canyon residents
62 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Embudo Canyon 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 1,049 Embudo Canyon residents, or 30.3%, live above that level. By land area, 33.5% of Embudo Canyon is above 55 dBA.
66.5% below 55 dBA
33.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Embudo Canyon compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Embudo Canyon
Average noise levels for Embudo Canyon residents, grouped by direction from the center of Embudo Canyon. The highest population-weighted average is in western Embudo Canyon; the lowest is in northeastern Embudo Canyon, where just 32% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Western Embudo Canyon
56.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Embudo Canyon
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Embudo Canyon
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Embudo Canyon
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Embudo Canyon
52.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in western Embudo Canyon sounds about 27% louder than in northeastern Embudo Canyon, a 3.5 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 62 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
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 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 16% of Embudo Canyon sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 57% 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
Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) sits southwest of Embudo Canyon. 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 Embudo Canyon, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Embudo Canyon
The bar chart below shows the share of Embudo Canyon residents in each noise band. About 84% 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 Embudo Canyon Compares
Embudo Canyon sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Embudo Canyon's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Princess Jeanne, South Los Altos, Singing Arrow, and glenwood-hills-albuquerque-nm.
Average noise level (dBA)
Embudo Canyon's 53.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New Mexico as a whole averages 51.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Embudo Canyon because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 30.3% of Embudo Canyon 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, 33.5% of Embudo Canyon's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Mexico average of 19.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Embudo Canyon
- 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 16% of Embudo Canyon is under tree cover (about average for 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. Albuquerque International Sunport's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
