Noise Levels in Town of Lake, Milwaukee, WI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Town of Lake
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,818
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
81% of Town of Lake residents
83 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Town of Lake 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 4,818 Town of Lake residents, or 81.2%, live above that level. By land area, 86.1% of Town of Lake is above 55 dBA.
13.9% below 55 dBA
86.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Town of Lake compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Town of Lake
Average noise levels for Town of Lake residents, grouped by direction from the center of Town of Lake. Southern Town of Lake carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Town of Lake carries the lowest. Just 77% of residents in Western Town of Lake live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Southern Town of Lake.
Central Town of Lake
58.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Town of Lake
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Town of Lake
60.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Town of Lake
61.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Town of Lake
58.3 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Town of Lake sounds about 28% louder than Western Town of Lake to the human ear, a 3.6 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 E Bolivar Ave do you need to be?
E Bolivar Ave produces an estimated 55 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
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 16% of Town of Lake sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 43% 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 Town of Lake. 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.
Airport Noise
General Mitchell International (MKE) sits south of Town of Lake. 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 80 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Town of Lake, 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 Town of Lake
The bar chart below shows the share of Town of Lake residents in each noise band. About 3% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 29% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Town of Lake Compares
Town of Lake sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Town of Lake's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Tippecanoe, Layton Park, Clarke Square, and Polonia.
Average noise level (dBA)
Town of Lake's 59.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Wisconsin as a whole averages 53.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Town of Lake because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 81.2% of Town of Lake residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 86.1% of Town of Lake's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Wisconsin average of 29.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Town of Lake
- 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 E Bolivar Ave 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 16% of Town of Lake is under tree cover (about average for 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. General Mitchell International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
