Noise Levels in Blue Oaks, Roseville, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
50 dBA
Average noise across Blue Oaks
Quiet office
763
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
22% of Blue Oaks residents
61 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Blue Oaks 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 763 Blue Oaks residents, or 22.2%, live above that level. By land area, 20.3% of Blue Oaks is above 55 dBA.
79.7% below 55 dBA
20.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Blue Oaks compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Blue Oaks
Average noise levels for Blue Oaks residents, grouped by direction from the center of Blue Oaks. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Blue Oaks; the lowest is in southwestern Blue Oaks, where just 11% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Blue Oaks
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Blue Oaks
52.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Blue Oaks
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Blue Oaks
51.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southwestern Blue Oaks
50.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in eastern Blue Oaks sounds about 21% louder than in southwestern Blue Oaks, a 2.7 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 61 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
61 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 6% of Blue Oaks sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 52% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
Sacramento International (SMF) sits southwest of Blue Oaks. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Blue Oaks, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Blue Oaks
The bar chart below shows the share of Blue Oaks residents in each noise band. About 90% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Blue Oaks Compares
Blue Oaks sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Blue Oaks's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Junction West, Foothill Junction, Kaseberg-Kingswood, and Johnson Ranch.
Average noise level (dBA)
Blue Oaks'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 Blue Oaks because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.2% of Blue Oaks 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, 20.3% of Blue Oaks'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 Blue Oaks
- 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 6% of Blue Oaks is under tree cover (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. Sacramento International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
