Noise Levels in Village West, Fargo, ND | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Village West
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,171
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
24% of Village West residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Village West 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 1,171 Village West residents, or 24.4%, live above that level. By land area, 34.1% of Village West is above 55 dBA.
65.9% below 55 dBA
34.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Village West compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Village West
Average noise levels for Village West residents, grouped by direction from the center of Village West. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Village West; the lowest is in eastern Village West, where just 4% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Village West
61.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Village West
61.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western Village West
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Village West
49.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Eastern Village West
49.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southern Village West sounds about 138% louder than in eastern Village West, a 12.5 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-29 do you need to be?
I-29 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 soft rainfall.
At source
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
46 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 2% of Village West sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 64% 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
Hector International (FAR) sits northeast of Village West. 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 Village West, 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 Village West
The bar chart below shows the share of Village West residents in each noise band. About 72% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 13% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Village West Compares
Village West sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Village West's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Jefferson-Carl Ben, Amber Valley, Northport, and Bluemont Lakes.
Average noise level (dBA)
Village West's 52.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. North Dakota as a whole averages 50.1 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Village West because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 24.4% of Village West 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, 34.1% of Village West's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a North Dakota average of 11.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Village West
- 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-29 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 2% of Village West is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is medium-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. Hector International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
