Noise Levels in Saint Joseph, Milwaukee, WI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Saint Joseph
Quiet office to normal conversation
683
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
14% of Saint Joseph residents
71 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Saint Joseph 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 683 Saint Joseph residents, or 13.9%, live above that level. By land area, 16.2% of Saint Joseph is above 55 dBA.
83.8% below 55 dBA
16.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Saint Joseph compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Saint Joseph
Average noise levels for Saint Joseph residents, grouped by direction from the center of Saint Joseph. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Saint Joseph; the lowest is in southeastern Saint Joseph, where just 17% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Saint Joseph
60.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Saint Joseph
58.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Saint Joseph
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Saint Joseph
54.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Saint Joseph
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Saint Joseph sounds about 56% louder than in southeastern Saint Joseph, a 6.4 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 71 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
71 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
58 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
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 11% of Saint Joseph sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 70% 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
General Mitchell International (MKE) sits southeast of Saint Joseph. 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 Saint Joseph, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Saint Joseph
The bar chart below shows the share of Saint Joseph residents in each noise band. About 84% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Saint Joseph Compares
Saint Joseph sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Saint Joseph's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Sherman Park, Washington Heights, Midtown, and North Division.
Average noise level (dBA)
Saint Joseph's 52.9 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Wisconsin as a whole averages 53.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Saint Joseph because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 13.9% of Saint Joseph residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 16.2% of Saint Joseph's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Wisconsin average of 29.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Saint Joseph
- 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 11% of Saint Joseph 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. General Mitchell International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
