Noise Levels in 93434, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across 93434
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,738
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
25% of 93434 residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 93434 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 1,738 93434 residents, or 25.2%, live above that level. By land area, 17.4% of 93434 is above 55 dBA.
82.6% below 55 dBA
17.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 93434 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 93434
Average noise levels for 93434 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 93434. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern 93434; the lowest is in central 93434, where just 10% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern 93434
62.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern 93434
58.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern 93434
54.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern 93434
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Central 93434
49.4 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northeastern 93434 sounds about 148% louder than in central 93434, a 13.1 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 1% of 93434 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 45% 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 93434. 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 93434
The bar chart below shows the share of 93434 residents in each noise band. About 76% 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 93434 Compares
93434 sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how 93434's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 93449, 93445, 93433, and 93463.
Average noise level (dBA)
93434's 53.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 93434 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.2% of 93434 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, 17.4% of 93434's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a California average of 36.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 93434
- 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 1% of 93434 is under tree cover (much lighter than most zip codes), 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.
