Noise Levels in Milneburg, New Orleans, LA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map

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 2,289 Milneburg residents, or 64.8%, live above that level. By land area, 64.7% of Milneburg is above 55 dBA.

See how noise in Milneburg compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.

Noise by Part of Milneburg

Average noise levels for Milneburg residents, grouped by direction from the center of Milneburg. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Milneburg; the lowest is in southwestern Milneburg, where just 54% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.

To the human ear, noise in northeastern Milneburg sounds about 21% louder than in southwestern Milneburg, a 2.8 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.

Loudest Road Corridors

The model evaluates every road in Milneburg using federal traffic counts, posted speeds, heavy-truck ratios, and pavement type. The source level shown is the modeled noise at the road centerline, where it is loudest. Noise drops with distance, faster in vegetated areas and slower over open pavement.

Rail Noise

Active freight rail runs through parts of Milneburg. 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

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY) sits west of Milneburg. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Milneburg, particularly to the east, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.

How Noise Is Distributed Across Milneburg

The bar chart below shows the share of Milneburg residents in each noise band. About 35% 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 Milneburg Compares

Milneburg sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Milneburg's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Lake Terrace and Oaks, Saint Anthony, Lake Shore, and Pines Village.

Average noise level (dBA)

Milneburg's 55.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Louisiana as a whole averages 50.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Milneburg because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.

Share of residents above 55 dBA

About 64.8% of Milneburg 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, 64.7% of Milneburg's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Louisiana average of 28.9% and a national average of 28.1%.

What This Means if You're Moving to Milneburg

• 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 Robert E Lee Blvd 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 Milneburg is under tree cover (about average for 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. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.

Sources & Methodology