Noise Levels in Highland Park, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Highland Park
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,912
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
69% of Highland Park residents
75 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Highland Park 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 2,912 Highland Park residents, or 69.0%, live above that level. By land area, 58.6% of Highland Park is above 55 dBA.
41.4% below 55 dBA
58.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Highland Park compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Highland Park
Average noise levels for Highland Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Highland Park. Western Highland Park carries the highest population-weighted average; Central Highland Park carries the lowest. Just 39% of residents in Central Highland Park live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Western Highland Park.
Central Highland Park
52.3 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Highland Park
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Highland Park
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Highland Park
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Highland Park
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Highland Park sounds about 68% louder than Central Highland Park to the human ear, a 7.5 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 Dallas North Tollway do you need to be?
Dallas North Tollway produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
61 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 15% of Highland Park sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 47% 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
Dallas Love Field (DAL) sits west of Highland Park. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Highland Park, 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 Highland Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Highland Park residents in each noise band. About 33% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Highland Park Compares
Highland Park sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Highland Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Hutchins, Ovilla, Lavon, and Wilmer.
Average noise level (dBA)
Highland Park's 56.2 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Highland Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 69.0% of Highland Park residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 58.6% of Highland Park'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 Highland Park
- 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 Dallas North Tollway 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 15% of Highland Park is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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. Dallas Love Field's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
