Noise Levels in Tower Triangle, Aurora, CO | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Tower Triangle
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,684
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
39% of Tower Triangle residents
75 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Tower Triangle 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 1,684 Tower Triangle residents, or 38.7%, live above that level. By land area, 50.0% of Tower Triangle is above 55 dBA.
50.0% below 55 dBA
50.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Tower Triangle compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Tower Triangle
Average noise levels for Tower Triangle residents, grouped by direction from the center of Tower Triangle. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Tower Triangle; the lowest is in northwestern Tower Triangle, where just 25% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Tower Triangle
59.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Tower Triangle
59.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Tower Triangle
58.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Tower Triangle
57.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Tower Triangle
56.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Tower Triangle sounds about 22% louder than in northwestern Tower Triangle, a 2.9 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 I-70 do you need to be?
I-70 produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 4% of Tower Triangle sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 35% 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
Denver International (DEN) sits northeast of Tower Triangle. 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 Tower Triangle, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Tower Triangle
The bar chart below shows the share of Tower Triangle residents in each noise band. About 49% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Tower Triangle Compares
Tower Triangle sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Tower Triangle's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Tollgate Overlook, Morris Heights, Chambers Heights, and Traditions.
Average noise level (dBA)
Tower Triangle's 55.4 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Colorado as a whole averages 51.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Tower Triangle because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 38.7% of Tower Triangle 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, 50.0% of Tower Triangle'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 Tower Triangle
- 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 I-70 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 4% of Tower Triangle is under tree cover (much 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. Denver International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
