Noise Levels in Matagorda County, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
47 dBA
Average noise across Matagorda County
Quiet office
3,451
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
15% of Matagorda County residents
87 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Matagorda County 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 3,451 Matagorda County residents, or 15.4%, live above that level. By land area, 13.8% of Matagorda County is above 55 dBA.
86.2% below 55 dBA
13.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Matagorda County compares to similar-sized counties.
Noise by Part of Matagorda County
Average noise levels for Matagorda County residents, grouped by direction from the center of Matagorda County. The highest population-weighted average is in the Bay City area (northeastern Matagorda County); the lowest is in southern Matagorda County, where just 0% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Bay City
52.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Matagorda County
50.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western Matagorda County
44.3 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southeastern Matagorda County
37.6 dBA · Quiet
Soft rainfall
Southern Matagorda County
36.5 dBA · Quiet
Soft rainfall
To the human ear, noise in the Bay City area (northeastern Matagorda County) sounds about 201% louder than in southern Matagorda County, a 15.9 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 87 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 to normal conversation.
At source
87 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
165 ft
74 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
66 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
660 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
¼ mile
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
½ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 13% of Matagorda County sits under tree canopy (lighter than most counties) and roughly 24% 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 Matagorda County. 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 Matagorda County
The bar chart below shows the share of Matagorda County residents in each noise band. About 85% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Matagorda County Compares
Matagorda County sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Matagorda County's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Wharton County, Jackson County, Calhoun County, and Austin County.
Average noise level (dBA)
Matagorda County's 47.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Matagorda County because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 15.4% of Matagorda County residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 13.8% of Matagorda County's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Texas average of 22.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Matagorda County
- 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 13% of Matagorda County is under tree cover (lighter than most counties), 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.
