Noise Levels in Lower Beaver, Des Moines, IA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Lower Beaver
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,365
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
38% of Lower Beaver residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Lower Beaver 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 2,365 Lower Beaver residents, or 37.8%, live above that level. By land area, 46.1% of Lower Beaver is above 55 dBA.
53.9% below 55 dBA
46.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Lower Beaver compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Lower Beaver
Average noise levels for Lower Beaver residents, grouped by direction from the center of Lower Beaver. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Lower Beaver; the lowest is in northwestern Lower Beaver, where just 42% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Lower Beaver
62.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Lower Beaver
61.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Lower Beaver
57.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Lower Beaver
56.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Lower Beaver
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Lower Beaver sounds about 64% louder than in northwestern Lower Beaver, a 7.1 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 Madison Avenue, E do you need to be?
Madison Avenue, E produces an estimated 58 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
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
37 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 34% of Lower Beaver sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 31% 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
Des Moines International (DSM) sits south of Lower Beaver. 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 Lower Beaver, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Lower Beaver
The bar chart below shows the share of Lower Beaver residents in each noise band. About 54% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 9% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Lower Beaver Compares
Lower Beaver sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Lower Beaver's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Union Park, Downtown Des Moines, Indianola Hills, and Fairmont Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Lower Beaver's 54.7 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Iowa as a whole averages 52.2 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Lower Beaver because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 37.8% of Lower Beaver 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, 46.1% of Lower Beaver's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Iowa average of 23.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Lower Beaver
- 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 Madison Avenue, E 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 34% of Lower Beaver is under tree cover (much 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. Des Moines International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
