Noise Levels in Highlands, Jacksonville, FL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Highlands
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,356
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
23% of Highlands residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Highlands 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 2,356 Highlands residents, or 22.8%, live above that level. By land area, 29.5% of Highlands is above 55 dBA.
70.5% below 55 dBA
29.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Highlands compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Highlands
Average noise levels for Highlands residents, grouped by direction from the center of Highlands. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Highlands; the lowest is in western Highlands, where just 10% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Highlands
59.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Highlands
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Highlands
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Highlands
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Highlands
50.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Highlands sounds about 82% louder than in western Highlands, a 8.6 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 I-95 do you need to be?
I-95 produces an estimated 78 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
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 30% of Highlands sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 36% 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
Jacksonville International (JAX) sits north of Highlands. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Highlands, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Highlands
The bar chart below shows the share of Highlands residents in each noise band. About 76% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 11% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Highlands Compares
Highlands sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Highlands's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Oceanway, The Cape, Turtle Creek, and Englewood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Highlands's 53.6 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Florida as a whole averages 51.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Highlands because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.8% of Highlands 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, 29.5% of Highlands's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Florida average of 31.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Highlands
- 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 I-95 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 30% of Highlands 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. Jacksonville International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
