Noise Levels in West Sullivan, MO | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across West Sullivan
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
114
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
32% of West Sullivan residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across West Sullivan 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 114 West Sullivan residents, or 32.3%, live above that level. By land area, 58.5% of West Sullivan is above 55 dBA.
41.5% below 55 dBA
58.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in West Sullivan compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of West Sullivan
Average noise levels for West Sullivan residents, grouped by direction from the center of West Sullivan. Western West Sullivan carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern West Sullivan carries the lowest. Just 2% of residents in Eastern West Sullivan live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Western West Sullivan.
Eastern West Sullivan
42.6 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Northern West Sullivan
57.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern West Sullivan
47.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western West Sullivan
60.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western West Sullivan sounds about 253% louder than Eastern West Sullivan to the human ear, a 18.2 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 79 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
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
66 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 14% of West Sullivan sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 5% 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 West Sullivan. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across West Sullivan
The bar chart below shows the share of West Sullivan residents in each noise band. About 53% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 45% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How West Sullivan Compares
West Sullivan sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how West Sullivan's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with St. Cloud, Japan, Argo, and Greenstreet.
Average noise level (dBA)
West Sullivan's 56.4 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Missouri as a whole averages 53.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than West Sullivan because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 32.3% of West Sullivan 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, 58.5% of West Sullivan's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Missouri average of 32.5% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to West Sullivan
- 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 14% of West Sullivan 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.
