Noise Levels in St. Hedwig, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
44 dBA
Average noise across St. Hedwig
Quiet suburban street at night
109
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
4% of St. Hedwig residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across St. Hedwig 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 109 St. Hedwig residents, or 3.7%, live above that level. By land area, 2.3% of St. Hedwig is above 55 dBA.
97.7% below 55 dBA
2.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in St. Hedwig compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of St. Hedwig
Average noise levels for St. Hedwig residents, grouped by direction from the center of St. Hedwig. The highest population-weighted average is in southern St. Hedwig; the lowest is in eastern St. Hedwig, where just 1% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southern St. Hedwig
47.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southwestern St. Hedwig
47.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern St. Hedwig
44.9 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southeastern St. Hedwig
43.0 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Eastern St. Hedwig
42.3 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in southern St. Hedwig sounds about 44% louder than in eastern St. Hedwig, a 5.3 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 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
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
39 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 St. Hedwig sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 6% 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
San Antonio International (SAT) sits northwest of St. Hedwig. 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 St. Hedwig, 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 St. Hedwig
The bar chart below shows the share of St. Hedwig residents in each noise band. About 100% 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 St. Hedwig Compares
St. Hedwig sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how St. Hedwig's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Marion, Terrell Hills, Alamo Heights, and Sutherland Springs.
Average noise level (dBA)
St. Hedwig's 43.5 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 St. Hedwig because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 3.7% of St. Hedwig 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, 2.3% of St. Hedwig'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 St. Hedwig
- 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 St. Hedwig is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is pasture / hay. 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 northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
