Noise Levels in Stetson Hills, Colorado Springs, CO | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Stetson Hills
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,139
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
36% of Stetson Hills residents
70 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Stetson Hills 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 1,139 Stetson Hills residents, or 35.8%, live above that level. By land area, 55.7% of Stetson Hills is above 55 dBA.
44.3% below 55 dBA
55.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Stetson Hills compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Stetson Hills
Average noise levels for Stetson Hills residents, grouped by direction from the center of Stetson Hills. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Stetson Hills; the lowest is in southeastern Stetson Hills, where just 35% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Stetson Hills
58.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Stetson Hills
57.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Stetson Hills
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Stetson Hills
55.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern Stetson Hills
54.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Stetson Hills sounds about 29% louder than in southeastern Stetson Hills, a 3.7 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 SH-21 do you need to be?
SH-21 produces an estimated 76 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 8% of Stetson Hills sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 40% 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
City Of Colorado Springs Municipal (COS) sits south of Stetson Hills. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Stetson Hills, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Stetson Hills
The bar chart below shows the share of Stetson Hills residents in each noise band. About 49% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 20% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Stetson Hills Compares
Stetson Hills sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Stetson Hills's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with banning-lewis-ranch-colorado-springs-co, Fairfax, Flying Horse, and Lowell.
Average noise level (dBA)
Stetson Hills's 55.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Colorado as a whole averages 51.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Stetson Hills because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 35.8% of Stetson Hills 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, 55.7% of Stetson Hills's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Colorado average of 25.4% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Stetson Hills
- 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 SH-21 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 Stetson Hills 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. City Of Colorado Springs Municipal's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
