Noise Levels in Woods of Shavano, San Antonio, TX | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Woods of Shavano
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,322
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
24% of Woods of Shavano residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Woods of Shavano 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 1,322 Woods of Shavano residents, or 24.0%, live above that level. By land area, 33.4% of Woods of Shavano is above 55 dBA.
66.6% below 55 dBA
33.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Woods of Shavano compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Woods of Shavano
Average noise levels for Woods of Shavano residents, grouped by direction from the center of Woods of Shavano. Central Woods of Shavano carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern Woods of Shavano carries the lowest. Just 12% of residents in Northern Woods of Shavano live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Central Woods of Shavano.
Central Woods of Shavano
54.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Woods of Shavano
50.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northern Woods of Shavano
43.6 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southern Woods of Shavano
46.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Woods of Shavano
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Woods of Shavano sounds about 114% louder than Northern Woods of Shavano to the human ear, a 11.0 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 State Loop 1604 do you need to be?
State Loop 1604 produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 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 6% of Woods of Shavano sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 50% 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 Woods of Shavano. 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
San Antonio International (SAT) sits southeast of Woods of Shavano. 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 Woods of Shavano, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Woods of Shavano
The bar chart below shows the share of Woods of Shavano residents in each noise band. About 55% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Woods of Shavano Compares
Woods of Shavano sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Woods of Shavano's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Greater Harmony Hills, Sonterra-Stone Oak, Lockhill Estates, and Pipers Meadow.
Average noise level (dBA)
Woods of Shavano's 53.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Texas as a whole averages 50.8 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Woods of Shavano because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 24.0% of Woods of Shavano 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, 33.4% of Woods of Shavano's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Texas average of 22.8% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Woods of Shavano
- 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 State Loop 1604 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 6% of Woods of Shavano is under tree cover (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. San Antonio International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
