Noise Levels in Fort Leavenworth, KS | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
50 dBA
Average noise across Fort Leavenworth
Quiet office
1,157
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
19% of Fort Leavenworth residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Fort Leavenworth 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 1,157 Fort Leavenworth residents, or 19.4%, live above that level. By land area, 25.3% of Fort Leavenworth is above 55 dBA.
74.7% below 55 dBA
25.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Fort Leavenworth compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Fort Leavenworth
Average noise levels for Fort Leavenworth residents, grouped by direction from the center of Fort Leavenworth. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Fort Leavenworth; the lowest is in western Fort Leavenworth, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Fort Leavenworth
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Fort Leavenworth
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Fort Leavenworth
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Fort Leavenworth
48.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Fort Leavenworth
48.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in eastern Fort Leavenworth sounds about 113% louder than in western Fort Leavenworth, a 10.9 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 159TH St do you need to be?
159TH St produces an estimated 55 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
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
42 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 20% of Fort Leavenworth sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 35% 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 Fort Leavenworth. 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
Kansas City International (MCI) sits east of Fort Leavenworth. 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 Fort Leavenworth, 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 Fort Leavenworth
The bar chart below shows the share of Fort Leavenworth residents in each noise band. About 94% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 1% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Fort Leavenworth Compares
Fort Leavenworth sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Fort Leavenworth's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Basehor, Lansing, Roeland Park, and DeSoto.
Average noise level (dBA)
Fort Leavenworth's 50.3 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Kansas as a whole averages 51.2 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Fort Leavenworth because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 19.4% of Fort Leavenworth 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, 25.3% of Fort Leavenworth's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Kansas average of 19.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Fort Leavenworth
- 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 159TH St 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 20% of Fort Leavenworth 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. Kansas City International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
