Noise Levels in Bixby Area, Long Beach, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
59 dBA
Average noise across Bixby Area
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
10,999
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
81% of Bixby Area residents
71 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Bixby Area 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 10,999 Bixby Area residents, or 80.6%, live above that level. By land area, 87.1% of Bixby Area is above 55 dBA.
12.9% below 55 dBA
87.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Bixby Area compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Bixby Area
Average noise levels for Bixby Area residents, grouped by direction from the center of Bixby Area. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Bixby Area; the lowest is in southwestern Bixby Area, where just 79% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Bixby Area
61.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern Bixby Area
61.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Bixby Area
60.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Bixby Area
57.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Bixby Area
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Bixby Area sounds about 42% louder than in southwestern Bixby Area, a 5.1 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 71 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
71 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 4% of Bixby Area sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Bixby Area. 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
Long Beach (Daugherty Field) (LGB) sits southeast of Bixby Area. 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 60 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Bixby Area, 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 Bixby Area
The bar chart below shows the share of Bixby Area residents in each noise band. About 2% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 23% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Bixby Area Compares
Bixby Area sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Bixby Area's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Los Altos, North West Long Beach, The Plaza, and Belmont Heights.
Average noise level (dBA)
Bixby Area's 58.9 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 Bixby Area because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 80.6% of Bixby Area 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, 87.1% of Bixby Area'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 Bixby Area
- 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 4% of Bixby Area is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), 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.
- Airport noise is directional. Long Beach (Daugherty Field)'s approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
