Noise Levels in Kenawood-Rockwood, Lexington, KY | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Kenawood-Rockwood
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,428
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
28% of Kenawood-Rockwood residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Kenawood-Rockwood 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 1,428 Kenawood-Rockwood residents, or 27.7%, live above that level. By land area, 33.3% of Kenawood-Rockwood is above 55 dBA.
66.7% below 55 dBA
33.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Kenawood-Rockwood compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Kenawood-Rockwood
Average noise levels for Kenawood-Rockwood residents, grouped by direction from the center of Kenawood-Rockwood. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Kenawood-Rockwood; the lowest is in western Kenawood-Rockwood, where just 27% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northern Kenawood-Rockwood
67.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northeastern Kenawood-Rockwood
67.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northwestern Kenawood-Rockwood
58.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Kenawood-Rockwood
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Kenawood-Rockwood
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northern Kenawood-Rockwood sounds about 111% louder than in western Kenawood-Rockwood, a 10.8 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 81 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 office.
At source
81 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
165 ft
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
660 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
47 dBA
Quiet office
½ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 14% of Kenawood-Rockwood sits under tree canopy (about average for 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
Blue Grass (LEX) sits west of Kenawood-Rockwood. 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 Kenawood-Rockwood, 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 Kenawood-Rockwood
The bar chart below shows the share of Kenawood-Rockwood residents in each noise band. About 77% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 4% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Kenawood-Rockwood Compares
Kenawood-Rockwood sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Kenawood-Rockwood's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Fairway-Liberty Heights, Downtown Lexington, Duncan Park, and Marriott's Griffin Gate Golf Culb.
Average noise level (dBA)
Kenawood-Rockwood'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 Kenawood-Rockwood because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 27.7% of Kenawood-Rockwood 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, 33.3% of Kenawood-Rockwood'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 Kenawood-Rockwood
- 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 14% of Kenawood-Rockwood is under tree cover (about average for 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. Blue Grass's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
