Noise Levels in Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake, San Antonio, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
Quiet office
868
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake 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 868 Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake residents, or 25.7%, live above that level. By land area, 30.1% of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake is above 55 dBA.
69.9% below 55 dBA
30.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
Average noise levels for Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake residents, grouped by direction from the center of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake. Northern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake carries the lowest. Just 0% of residents in Southern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Northern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake.
Central Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
51.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
56.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
44.9 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Western Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake sounds about 122% louder than Southern Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake to the human ear, a 11.5 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 67 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 9% of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 37% 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
San Antonio International (SAT) sits northeast of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
The bar chart below shows the share of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake residents in each noise band. About 69% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake Compares
Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Woodlawn Lake, University Park-San Antonio, Community Workers Council, and Northwest Los Angeles Heights.
Average noise level (dBA)
Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake's 50.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.7% of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake 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, 30.1% of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake'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 Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake
- 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 9% of Jefferson-Woodlawn Lake is under tree cover (lighter 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. San Antonio International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
