Noise Levels in Refugio County, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
47 dBA
Average noise across Refugio County
Quiet office
728
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
20% of Refugio County residents
106 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Refugio 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 728 Refugio County residents, or 19.8%, live above that level. By land area, 19.9% of Refugio County is above 55 dBA.
80.1% below 55 dBA
19.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Refugio County compares to similar-sized counties.
Noise by Part of Refugio County
Average noise levels for Refugio County residents, grouped by direction from the center of Refugio County. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Refugio County; the lowest is in northeastern Refugio County, where just 0% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Refugio County
65.7 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Refugio County
60.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Refugio County
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Refugio
58.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Refugio County
43.5 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in southern Refugio County sounds about 366% louder than in northeastern Refugio County, a 22.2 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 106 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 highway traffic 50 ft away.
At source
106 dBA
Power saw
330 ft
85 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
660 ft
77 dBA
City bus interior
¼ mile
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
½ mile
61 dBA
Busy restaurant
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 4% of Refugio County sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most counties) and roughly 20% 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 Refugio 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 Refugio County
The bar chart below shows the share of Refugio County residents in each noise band. About 80% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 5% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Refugio County Compares
Refugio County sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Refugio County's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Goliad County, Aransas County, Live Oak County, and Bee County.
Average noise level (dBA)
Refugio County's 47.2 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 Refugio County because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 19.8% of Refugio 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, 19.9% of Refugio 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 Refugio 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 4% of Refugio County is under tree cover (much 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.
