Noise Levels in Fulton, Minneapolis, MN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Fulton
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
5,000
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
89% of Fulton residents
63 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Fulton 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 5,000 Fulton residents, or 89.0%, live above that level. By land area, 89.0% of Fulton is above 55 dBA.
11.0% below 55 dBA
89.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Fulton compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Fulton
Average noise levels for Fulton residents, grouped by direction from the center of Fulton. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Fulton; the lowest is in northwestern Fulton, where just 73% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Fulton
59.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Fulton
59.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Fulton
58.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Fulton
58.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Fulton
58.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southern Fulton sounds about 10% louder than in northwestern Fulton, a 1.4 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 Alley do you need to be?
Alley 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 23% of Fulton sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 44% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain (MSP) sits southeast of Fulton. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Fulton, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Fulton
The bar chart below shows the share of Fulton residents in each noise band. About 5% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 15% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Fulton Compares
Fulton sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Fulton's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Lynnhurst, Calhoun, Lyndale, and Windom.
Average noise level (dBA)
Fulton's 58.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Minnesota as a whole averages 53.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Fulton because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 89.0% of Fulton 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, 89.0% of Fulton's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Minnesota average of 31.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Fulton
- 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 Alley 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 23% of Fulton is under tree cover (heavier than most 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. Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
