Noise Levels in Hurstbourne Acres, KY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Hurstbourne Acres
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
928
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
50% of Hurstbourne Acres residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Hurstbourne Acres 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 928 Hurstbourne Acres residents, or 50.5%, live above that level. By land area, 47.9% of Hurstbourne Acres is above 55 dBA.
52.1% below 55 dBA
47.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Hurstbourne Acres compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Hurstbourne Acres
Average noise levels for Hurstbourne Acres residents, grouped by direction from the center of Hurstbourne Acres. Eastern Hurstbourne Acres carries the highest population-weighted average; Central Hurstbourne Acres carries the lowest. Just 49% of residents in Central Hurstbourne Acres live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in Eastern Hurstbourne Acres.
Central Hurstbourne Acres
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Hurstbourne Acres
64.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Hurstbourne Acres
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Hurstbourne Acres sounds about 58% louder than Central Hurstbourne Acres to the human ear, a 6.6 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 73 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
73 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
44 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 19% of Hurstbourne Acres sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 55% 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
Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF) sits west of Hurstbourne Acres. 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 Hurstbourne Acres, 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 Hurstbourne Acres
The bar chart below shows the share of Hurstbourne Acres residents in each noise band. About 18% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 30% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Hurstbourne Acres Compares
Hurstbourne Acres sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Hurstbourne Acres's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with St. Regis Park, Windy Hills, Orchard Grass Hills, and Anchorage.
Average noise level (dBA)
Hurstbourne Acres's 59.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Kentucky as a whole averages 50.5 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Hurstbourne Acres because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 50.5% of Hurstbourne Acres 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, 47.9% of Hurstbourne Acres's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Kentucky average of 23.2% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Hurstbourne Acres
- 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 19% of Hurstbourne Acres is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Louisville Muhammad Ali International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
