Noise Levels in Bolsa Chica-Heil, Huntington Beach, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Bolsa Chica-Heil
Quiet office to normal conversation
879
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
29% of Bolsa Chica-Heil residents
65 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Bolsa Chica-Heil 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 879 Bolsa Chica-Heil residents, or 29.4%, live above that level. By land area, 30.8% of Bolsa Chica-Heil is above 55 dBA.
69.2% below 55 dBA
30.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Bolsa Chica-Heil compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Bolsa Chica-Heil
Average noise levels for Bolsa Chica-Heil residents, grouped by direction from the center of Bolsa Chica-Heil. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Bolsa Chica-Heil; the lowest is in western Bolsa Chica-Heil, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Bolsa Chica-Heil
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Bolsa Chica-Heil
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Bolsa Chica-Heil
53.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Bolsa Chica-Heil
49.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Bolsa Chica-Heil
49.8 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Bolsa Chica-Heil sounds about 53% louder than in western Bolsa Chica-Heil, a 6.1 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 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 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 Bolsa Chica-Heil sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 65% 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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Airport Noise
Long Beach (Daugherty Field) (LGB) sits northwest of Bolsa Chica-Heil. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Bolsa Chica-Heil, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Bolsa Chica-Heil
The bar chart below shows the share of Bolsa Chica-Heil residents in each noise band. About 68% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 4% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Bolsa Chica-Heil Compares
Bolsa Chica-Heil sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Bolsa Chica-Heil's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Park Estates, Adams, Windsor Village, and Valley Adams.
Average noise level (dBA)
Bolsa Chica-Heil's 51.9 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 Bolsa Chica-Heil because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 29.4% of Bolsa Chica-Heil residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 30.8% of Bolsa Chica-Heil'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 Bolsa Chica-Heil
- 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 Bolsa Chica-Heil 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. Long Beach (Daugherty Field)'s approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
