Noise Levels in Riverside South, San Antonio, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Riverside South
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,291
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
56% of Riverside South residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Riverside South 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 1,291 Riverside South residents, or 55.6%, live above that level. By land area, 57.1% of Riverside South is above 55 dBA.
42.9% below 55 dBA
57.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Riverside South compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Riverside South
Average noise levels for Riverside South residents, grouped by direction from the center of Riverside South. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Riverside South; the lowest is in western Riverside South, where just 19% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Riverside South
65.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Riverside South
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Riverside South
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Riverside South
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Riverside South
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Riverside South sounds about 135% louder than in western Riverside South, a 12.3 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 I-37 do you need to be?
I-37 produces an estimated 79 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 suburban street at night.
At source
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 9% of Riverside South sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 43% 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 Riverside South. 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
San Antonio International (SAT) sits north of Riverside South. 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 Riverside South, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Riverside South
The bar chart below shows the share of Riverside South residents in each noise band. About 42% 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 Riverside South Compares
Riverside South sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Riverside South's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Denver Heights, Sunny Slope, Columbia Heights, and Avenida Guadalupe.
Average noise level (dBA)
Riverside South's 55.0 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 Riverside South because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 55.6% of Riverside South 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, 57.1% of Riverside South'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 Riverside South
- 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 I-37 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 9% of Riverside South is under tree cover (lighter than most 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. San Antonio International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
