Noise Levels in 95023, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
50 dBA
Average noise across 95023
Quiet office
12,997
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of 95023 residents
110 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 95023 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 12,997 95023 residents, or 25.8%, live above that level. By land area, 25.7% of 95023 is above 55 dBA.
74.3% below 55 dBA
25.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 95023 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 95023
Average noise levels for 95023 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 95023. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 95023; the lowest is in northeastern 95023, where just 14% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 95023
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central 95023
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern 95023
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 95023
50.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northeastern 95023
47.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 95023 sounds about 108% louder than in northeastern 95023, a 10.6 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 110 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 city bus interior.
At source
110 dBA
Power saw
330 ft
90 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
660 ft
82 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
¼ mile
75 dBA
City bus interior
½ mile
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 2% of 95023 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 42% 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 95023. 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 95023
The bar chart below shows the share of 95023 residents in each noise band. About 78% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 95023 Compares
95023 sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how 95023's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 95020, 93906, 93905, and 95037.
Average noise level (dBA)
95023's 50.4 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 95023 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.8% of 95023 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, 25.7% of 95023'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 95023
- 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 2% of 95023 is under tree cover (much lighter than most zip codes), 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.
