Noise Levels in South Knoxville, Knoxville, TN | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across South Knoxville
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,678
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
28% of South Knoxville residents
85 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across South Knoxville 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 2,678 South Knoxville residents, or 27.5%, live above that level. By land area, 34.2% of South Knoxville is above 55 dBA.
65.8% below 55 dBA
34.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in South Knoxville compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of South Knoxville
Average noise levels for South Knoxville residents, grouped by direction from the center of South Knoxville. Northern South Knoxville carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern South Knoxville carries the lowest. Just 31% of residents in Eastern South Knoxville live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Northern South Knoxville.
Central South Knoxville
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern South Knoxville
52.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern South Knoxville
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern South Knoxville
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western South Knoxville
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern South Knoxville sounds about 24% louder than Eastern South Knoxville to the human ear, a 3.1 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 James White Pkwy do you need to be?
James White Pkwy produces an estimated 72 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
72 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 40% of South Knoxville sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 32% 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 South Knoxville. 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 South Knoxville
The bar chart below shows the share of South Knoxville residents in each noise band. About 71% 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 South Knoxville Compares
South Knoxville sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how South Knoxville's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Fort Sanders, Park City, Mornngside, and Oakwood.
Average noise level (dBA)
South Knoxville's 53.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Tennessee as a whole averages 49.2 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than South Knoxville because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 27.5% of South Knoxville 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, 34.2% of South Knoxville's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Tennessee average of 18.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to South Knoxville
- 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 James White Pkwy 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 40% of South Knoxville is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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.
