Noise Levels in South 39th Street, Missoula, MT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across South 39th Street
Quiet office to normal conversation
786
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
28% of South 39th Street residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across South 39th Street 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 786 South 39th Street residents, or 27.5%, live above that level. By land area, 36.9% of South 39th Street is above 55 dBA.
63.1% below 55 dBA
36.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in South 39th Street compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of South 39th Street
Average noise levels for South 39th Street residents, grouped by direction from the center of South 39th Street. Eastern South 39th Street carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern South 39th Street carries the lowest. Just 10% of residents in Southern South 39th Street live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Eastern South 39th Street.
Central South 39th Street
52.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern South 39th Street
54.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern South 39th Street
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern South 39th Street
50.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western South 39th Street
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern South 39th Street sounds about 27% louder than Southern South 39th Street to the human ear, a 3.5 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 67 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 8% of South 39th Street 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.
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Airport Noise
Missoula Montana (MSO) sits northwest of South 39th Street. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of South 39th Street, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across South 39th Street
The bar chart below shows the share of South 39th Street residents in each noise band. About 88% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How South 39th Street Compares
South 39th Street sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how South 39th Street's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Southgate Triangle, Northside, farviews-and-pattee-canyon-missoula-mt, and riverfront-missoula-mt.
Average noise level (dBA)
South 39th Street's 52.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Montana as a whole averages 49.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than South 39th Street because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 27.5% of South 39th Street 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, 36.9% of South 39th Street's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Montana average of 16.9% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to South 39th Street
- 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 8% of South 39th Street 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. Missoula Montana's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
