Noise Levels in Wind Point, WI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Wind Point
Quiet office to normal conversation
602
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
38% of Wind Point residents
63 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Wind Point 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 602 Wind Point residents, or 37.9%, live above that level. By land area, 43.1% of Wind Point is above 55 dBA.
56.9% below 55 dBA
43.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Wind Point compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Wind Point
Average noise levels for Wind Point residents, grouped by direction from the center of Wind Point. Eastern Wind Point carries the highest population-weighted average; Southern Wind Point carries the lowest. Just 23% of residents in Southern Wind Point live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in Eastern Wind Point.
Central Wind Point
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Wind Point
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Wind Point
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Wind Point
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Wind Point sounds about 30% louder than Southern Wind Point to the human ear, a 3.8 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 63 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
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 19% of Wind Point sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 29% 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
General Mitchell International (MKE) sits northwest of Wind Point. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Wind Point, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Wind Point
The bar chart below shows the share of Wind Point residents in each noise band. About 68% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Wind Point Compares
Wind Point sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Wind Point's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Somers, North Cape, Kneeland, and Butler.
Average noise level (dBA)
Wind Point's 54.1 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 Wind Point because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 37.9% of Wind Point 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, 43.1% of Wind Point'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 Wind Point
- 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 19% of Wind Point is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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 northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
