Noise Levels in Iroquois, Louisville, KY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Iroquois
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,376
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
32% of Iroquois residents
69 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Iroquois 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 1,376 Iroquois residents, or 31.5%, live above that level. By land area, 33.0% of Iroquois is above 55 dBA.
67.0% below 55 dBA
33.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Iroquois compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Iroquois
Average noise levels for Iroquois residents, grouped by direction from the center of Iroquois. Central Iroquois carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Iroquois carries the lowest. Just 20% of residents in Western Iroquois live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Central Iroquois.
Central Iroquois
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Iroquois
53.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Iroquois
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Iroquois
52.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Iroquois
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Central Iroquois sounds about 54% louder than Western Iroquois to the human ear, a 6.2 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 Rundill Rd do you need to be?
Rundill Rd produces an estimated 55 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
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 32% of Iroquois 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.
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Airport Noise
Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF) sits east of Iroquois. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Iroquois, 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 Iroquois
The bar chart below shows the share of Iroquois residents in each noise band. About 75% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Iroquois Compares
Iroquois sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Iroquois's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Southside, Jacobs, Park Duvalle, and Taylor Berry.
Average noise level (dBA)
Iroquois's 53.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Kentucky as a whole averages 50.5 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Iroquois because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 31.5% of Iroquois residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 33.0% of Iroquois'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 Iroquois
- 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 Rundill Rd 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 32% of Iroquois 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. Louisville Muhammad Ali International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
