Noise Levels in Hillsboro West End, Nashville, TN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Hillsboro West End
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,386
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
50% of Hillsboro West End residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Hillsboro West End 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 4,386 Hillsboro West End residents, or 50.0%, live above that level. By land area, 48.7% of Hillsboro West End is above 55 dBA.
51.3% below 55 dBA
48.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Hillsboro West End compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Hillsboro West End
Average noise levels for Hillsboro West End residents, grouped by direction from the center of Hillsboro West End. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Hillsboro West End; the lowest is in eastern Hillsboro West End, where just 27% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Hillsboro West End
67.3 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southern Hillsboro West End
65.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Hillsboro West End
60.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Hillsboro West End
55.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Hillsboro West End
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Hillsboro West End sounds about 139% louder than in eastern Hillsboro West End, a 12.6 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-440 do you need to be?
I-440 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 28% of Hillsboro West End 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.
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Airport Noise
Nashville International (BNA) sits east of Hillsboro West End. 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 Hillsboro West End, 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 Hillsboro West End
The bar chart below shows the share of Hillsboro West End residents in each noise band. About 40% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 27% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Hillsboro West End Compares
Hillsboro West End sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Hillsboro West End's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with West Meade, Donelson, Bordeaux, and Bellmont Hillsboro.
Average noise level (dBA)
Hillsboro West End's 57.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Tennessee as a whole averages 49.2 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Hillsboro West End because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 50.0% of Hillsboro West End 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, 48.7% of Hillsboro West End's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Tennessee average of 18.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Hillsboro West End
- 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-440 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 28% of Hillsboro West End 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. Nashville International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
