Noise Levels in Lake Alfred, FL | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Lake Alfred
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,680
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
21% of Lake Alfred residents
94 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Lake Alfred 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 1,680 Lake Alfred residents, or 21.0%, live above that level. By land area, 29.4% of Lake Alfred is above 55 dBA.
70.6% below 55 dBA
29.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Lake Alfred compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Lake Alfred
Average noise levels for Lake Alfred residents, grouped by direction from the center of Lake Alfred. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Lake Alfred; the lowest is in southwestern Lake Alfred, where just 9% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Lake Alfred
58.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Lake Alfred
58.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Lake Alfred
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Lake Alfred
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Lake Alfred
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Lake Alfred sounds about 65% louder than in southwestern Lake Alfred, a 7.2 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 S Lake Shore Way do you need to be?
S Lake Shore Way produces an estimated 70 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
70 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 14% of Lake Alfred sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 30% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Lake Alfred. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Lake Alfred
The bar chart below shows the share of Lake Alfred 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 Lake Alfred Compares
Lake Alfred sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Lake Alfred's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Cypress Gardens, Inwood, Crystal Lake, and Polk City.
Average noise level (dBA)
Lake Alfred's 51.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Florida as a whole averages 51.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Lake Alfred because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 21.0% of Lake Alfred 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, 29.4% of Lake Alfred's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Florida average of 31.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Lake Alfred
- 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 S Lake Shore Way 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 Lake Alfred is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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.
