Noise Levels in Northwest Austin, Austin, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Northwest Austin
Quiet office to normal conversation
6,005
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
30% of Northwest Austin residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Northwest Austin 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 6,005 Northwest Austin residents, or 29.8%, live above that level. By land area, 33.0% of Northwest Austin is above 55 dBA.
67.0% below 55 dBA
33.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Northwest Austin compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Northwest Austin
Average noise levels for Northwest Austin residents, grouped by direction from the center of Northwest Austin. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Northwest Austin; the lowest is in eastern Northwest Austin, where just 20% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southern Northwest Austin
66.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southwestern Northwest Austin
66.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northeastern Northwest Austin
56.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Northwest Austin
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Northwest Austin
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southern Northwest Austin sounds about 162% louder than in eastern Northwest Austin, a 13.9 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 US Hwy 183 do you need to be?
US Hwy 183 produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 12% of Northwest Austin sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 52% 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
Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) sits south of Northwest Austin. 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 Northwest Austin, 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 Northwest Austin
The bar chart below shows the share of Northwest Austin residents in each noise band. About 73% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 7% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Northwest Austin Compares
Northwest Austin sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Northwest Austin's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with North Austin, North Burnet, Milwood, and West Oak Hill.
Average noise level (dBA)
Northwest Austin's 52.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Northwest Austin because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 29.8% of Northwest Austin 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, 33.0% of Northwest Austin'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 Northwest Austin
- 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 US Hwy 183 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 12% of Northwest Austin is under tree cover (about average for 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. Austin-Bergstrom International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
