Noise Levels in New Territory, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across New Territory
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,210
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
28% of New Territory residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across New Territory 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 3,210 New Territory residents, or 28.3%, live above that level. By land area, 33.6% of New Territory is above 55 dBA.
66.4% below 55 dBA
33.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in New Territory compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of New Territory
Average noise levels for New Territory residents, grouped by direction from the center of New Territory. The highest population-weighted average is in southern New Territory; the lowest is in southwestern New Territory, where just 29% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southern New Territory
60.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central New Territory
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern New Territory
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern New Territory
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern New Territory
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern New Territory sounds about 73% louder than in southwestern New Territory, a 7.9 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 Grand Pkwy do you need to be?
Grand Pkwy produces an estimated 73 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
73 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 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 24% of New Territory sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 47% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of New Territory. 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 New Territory
The bar chart below shows the share of New Territory residents in each noise band. About 80% 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 New Territory Compares
New Territory sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how New Territory's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Greatwood, Cinco Ranch, Bellaire, and Pecan Grove.
Average noise level (dBA)
New Territory's 52.1 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 New Territory because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 28.3% of New Territory 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, 33.6% of New Territory'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 New Territory
- 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 Grand Pkwy 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 24% of New Territory is under tree cover (about average for cities), 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.
