Noise Levels in 95971, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
47 dBA
Average noise across 95971
Quiet office
796
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
15% of 95971 residents
110 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 95971 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 796 95971 residents, or 15.3%, live above that level. By land area, 16.3% of 95971 is above 55 dBA.
83.7% below 55 dBA
16.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 95971 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 95971
Average noise levels for 95971 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 95971. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 95971; the lowest is in western 95971, where just 2% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 95971
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 95971
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern 95971
45.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Southwestern 95971
42.2 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Western 95971
42.1 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 95971 sounds about 113% louder than in western 95971, a 10.9 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 30% of 95971 sits under tree canopy (about average for zip codes) and roughly 19% 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 95971. 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 95971
The bar chart below shows the share of 95971 residents in each noise band. About 81% 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 95971 Compares
95971 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 95971's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 96122, 95969, 96114, and 95954.
Average noise level (dBA)
95971's 47.2 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 95971 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 15.3% of 95971 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, 16.3% of 95971'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 95971
- 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 30% of 95971 is under tree cover (about average for zip codes), and the dominant land cover is evergreen forest. 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.
