Noise Levels in Marcy Holmes, Minneapolis, MN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
61 dBA
Average noise across Marcy Holmes
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
11,126
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
78% of Marcy Holmes residents
83 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Marcy Holmes 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 11,126 Marcy Holmes residents, or 77.6%, live above that level. By land area, 79.0% of Marcy Holmes is above 55 dBA.
21.0% below 55 dBA
79.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Marcy Holmes compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Marcy Holmes
Average noise levels for Marcy Holmes residents, grouped by direction from the center of Marcy Holmes. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Marcy Holmes; the lowest is in western Marcy Holmes, where just 38% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Marcy Holmes
69.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Marcy Holmes
69.0 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern Marcy Holmes
64.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern Marcy Holmes
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Marcy Holmes
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Marcy Holmes sounds about 181% louder than in western Marcy Holmes, a 14.9 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 I-35 W do you need to be?
I-35 W produces an estimated 72 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
72 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
43 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 4% of Marcy Holmes sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 69% 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 Marcy Holmes. 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.
Airport Noise
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain (MSP) sits south of Marcy Holmes. 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 Marcy Holmes, 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 Marcy Holmes
The bar chart below shows the share of Marcy Holmes residents in each noise band. About 10% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 37% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Marcy Holmes Compares
Marcy Holmes sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Marcy Holmes's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Thomas-Dale, Whittier, Merrlam Park, and Summit-University.
Average noise level (dBA)
Marcy Holmes's 60.7 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Minnesota as a whole averages 53.6 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Marcy Holmes because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 77.6% of Marcy Holmes 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, 79.0% of Marcy Holmes'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 Marcy Holmes
- 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 I-35 W 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 4% of Marcy Holmes 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 south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
