This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Homestead Meadows South 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 1,321 Homestead Meadows South residents, or 25.4%, live above that level. By land area, 25.8% of Homestead Meadows South is above 55 dBA.
See how noise in Homestead Meadows South compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Homestead Meadows South
Average noise levels for Homestead Meadows South residents, grouped by direction from the center of Homestead Meadows South. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Homestead Meadows South; the lowest is in southeastern Homestead Meadows South, where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Homestead Meadows South
30% of people above 55 dBA
Western Homestead Meadows South
21% of people above 55 dBA
Southern Homestead Meadows South
16% of people above 55 dBA
Eastern Homestead Meadows South
24% of people above 55 dBA
Southeastern Homestead Meadows South
2% of people above 55 dBA
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Homestead Meadows South sounds about 223% louder than in southeastern Homestead Meadows South, a 16.9 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 Noise Is Distributed Across Homestead Meadows South
The bar chart below shows the share of Homestead Meadows South residents in each noise band. About 76% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Homestead Meadows South Compares
Homestead Meadows South sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Homestead Meadows South's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Homestead Meadows North, Fort Bliss, Clint, and Horizon City.
Average noise level (dBA)
Homestead Meadows South's 50.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Homestead Meadows South because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.4% of Homestead Meadows South 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, 25.8% of Homestead Meadows South'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 Homestead Meadows South
- 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 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 0% of Homestead Meadows South is under tree cover (much lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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.
Sources & Methodology
The BestNeighborhood noise model is calibrated against nearly one million federal ground-truth measurements across four states. Road noise is computed from segment-level federal traffic data and propagated outward using physics-based acoustic decay, with attenuation rates that depend on the surrounding land cover.
Federal datasets used:
FHWA Highway Performance Monitoring System: road geometry, traffic counts, lane configuration
U.S. DoT Bureau of Transportation Statistics National Transportation Noise Map: aviation and rail noise, road calibration ground truth
USGS / MRLC National Land Cover Database: land cover and impervious surface coverage
USDA Forest Service Tree Canopy Cover: vegetation density for sound propagation
U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line: block-level geography and population
U.S. EPA Levels Document: 55 dBA outdoor reference level
All inputs are published federal datasets. Block-level noise is computed by combining road, rail, and aviation sound sources in the energy domain, the same physics used in professional environmental noise assessments. Read the full methodology.