Noise Levels in Lyndale, Minneapolis, MN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across Lyndale
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
5,276
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
96% of Lyndale residents
75 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Lyndale 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 5,276 Lyndale residents, or 96.0%, live above that level. By land area, 96.4% of Lyndale is above 55 dBA.
3.6% below 55 dBA
96.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Lyndale compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Lyndale
Average noise levels for Lyndale residents, grouped by direction from the center of Lyndale. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Lyndale; the lowest is in southwestern Lyndale, where just 100% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Lyndale
64.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern Lyndale
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Lyndale
60.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Lyndale
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Lyndale
58.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Lyndale sounds about 53% louder than in southwestern Lyndale, a 6.1 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 State Hwy 65 do you need to be?
State Hwy 65 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
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 5% of Lyndale sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 64% 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
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain (MSP) sits southeast of Lyndale. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Lyndale, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Lyndale
The bar chart below shows the share of Lyndale residents in each noise band. About 0% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 30% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Lyndale Compares
Lyndale sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Lyndale's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Calhoun, Seward, Fulton, and Lynnhurst.
Average noise level (dBA)
Lyndale's 59.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Minnesota as a whole averages 53.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Lyndale because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 96.0% of Lyndale 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, 96.4% of Lyndale's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Minnesota average of 31.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Lyndale
- 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 State Hwy 65 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 5% of Lyndale is under tree cover (lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
