Noise Levels in 95212, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across 95212
Quiet office to normal conversation
11,264
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
43% of 95212 residents
104 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 95212 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 11,264 95212 residents, or 42.8%, live above that level. By land area, 40.0% of 95212 is above 55 dBA.
60.0% below 55 dBA
40.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 95212 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 95212
Average noise levels for 95212 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 95212. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern 95212; the lowest is in central 95212, where just 42% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern 95212
64.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern 95212
61.6 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern 95212
59.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western 95212
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central 95212
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southeastern 95212 sounds about 79% louder than in central 95212, a 8.4 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 Rte 99 do you need to be?
State Rte 99 produces an estimated 78 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
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 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 3% of 95212 sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most zip codes) and roughly 58% 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 95212. 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 95212
The bar chart below shows the share of 95212 residents in each noise band. About 51% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 14% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 95212 Compares
95212 sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how 95212's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 95215, 95204, 95219, and 95242.
Average noise level (dBA)
95212's 54.9 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 95212 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 42.8% of 95212 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, 40.0% of 95212'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 95212
- 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 Rte 99 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 3% of 95212 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.
