Noise Levels in Estates Of Highland Creek, Katy, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Estates Of Highland Creek
Quiet office
1,600
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
20% of Estates Of Highland Creek residents
65 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Estates Of Highland Creek 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 1,600 Estates Of Highland Creek residents, or 20.3%, live above that level. By land area, 30.5% of Estates Of Highland Creek is above 55 dBA.
69.5% below 55 dBA
30.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Estates Of Highland Creek compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Estates Of Highland Creek
Average noise levels for Estates Of Highland Creek residents, grouped by direction from the center of Estates Of Highland Creek. Northern Estates Of Highland Creek carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Estates Of Highland Creek carries the lowest. Just 11% of residents in Southern Estates Of Highland Creek live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in Northern Estates Of Highland Creek.
Central Estates Of Highland Creek
50.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Eastern Estates Of Highland Creek
49.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Estates Of Highland Creek
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Estates Of Highland Creek
49.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Estates Of Highland Creek
49.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Estates Of Highland Creek sounds about 36% louder than Southern Estates Of Highland Creek to the human ear, a 4.4 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 10% of Estates Of Highland Creek sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 58% 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
George Bush Intcntl/Houston (IAH) sits east of Estates Of Highland Creek. 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 Estates Of Highland Creek, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Estates Of Highland Creek
The bar chart below shows the share of Estates Of Highland Creek 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 Estates Of Highland Creek Compares
Estates Of Highland Creek sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Estates Of Highland Creek's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Copperfield, Bridgeland, Addicks-Park ten, and Energy Corridor.
Average noise level (dBA)
Estates Of Highland Creek's 50.9 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 Estates Of Highland Creek because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 20.3% of Estates Of Highland Creek 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, 30.5% of Estates Of Highland Creek'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 Estates Of Highland Creek
- 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 10% of Estates Of Highland Creek 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. George Bush Intcntl/Houston's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
