Noise Levels in South Cottonwood Acres, Murray, UT | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across South Cottonwood Acres
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,239
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
30% of South Cottonwood Acres residents
71 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across South Cottonwood Acres 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 1,239 South Cottonwood Acres residents, or 29.6%, live above that level. By land area, 37.5% of South Cottonwood Acres is above 55 dBA.
62.5% below 55 dBA
37.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in South Cottonwood Acres compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of South Cottonwood Acres
Average noise levels for South Cottonwood Acres residents, grouped by direction from the center of South Cottonwood Acres. The highest population-weighted average is in northern South Cottonwood Acres; the lowest is in western South Cottonwood Acres, where just 29% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Northern South Cottonwood Acres
58.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern South Cottonwood Acres
58.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern South Cottonwood Acres
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern South Cottonwood Acres
56.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western South Cottonwood Acres
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern South Cottonwood Acres sounds about 21% louder than in western South Cottonwood Acres, a 2.7 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
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 7% of South Cottonwood Acres sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 49% 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
Salt Lake City International (SLC) sits northwest of South Cottonwood Acres. 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 South Cottonwood Acres, 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 Cottonwood Acres
The bar chart below shows the share of South Cottonwood Acres residents in each noise band. About 50% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 10% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How South Cottonwood Acres Compares
South Cottonwood Acres sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how South Cottonwood Acres's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 9th and 9th, Daybreak, Central City Liberty Wells, and Barrington Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
South Cottonwood Acres's 53.6 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Utah as a whole averages 53.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than South Cottonwood Acres because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 29.6% of South Cottonwood Acres 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, 37.5% of South Cottonwood Acres's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Utah average of 25.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to South Cottonwood Acres
- 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 7% of South Cottonwood Acres 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. Salt Lake City International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
