Noise Levels in Burlingame Gate, Burlingame, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Burlingame Gate
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,712
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
51% of Burlingame Gate residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Burlingame Gate 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 2,712 Burlingame Gate residents, or 51.0%, live above that level. By land area, 50.5% of Burlingame Gate is above 55 dBA.
49.5% below 55 dBA
50.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Burlingame Gate compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Burlingame Gate
Average noise levels for Burlingame Gate residents, grouped by direction from the center of Burlingame Gate. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Burlingame Gate; the lowest is in western Burlingame Gate, where just 36% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Burlingame Gate
66.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Burlingame Gate
58.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Burlingame Gate
54.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Burlingame Gate
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in eastern Burlingame Gate sounds about 143% louder than in western Burlingame Gate, a 12.8 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 80 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
80 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
66 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 11% of Burlingame Gate sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 56% 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
San Francisco International (SFO) sits north of Burlingame Gate. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Burlingame Gate, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Burlingame Gate
The bar chart below shows the share of Burlingame Gate residents in each noise band. About 54% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Burlingame Gate Compares
Burlingame Gate sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Burlingame Gate's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Marina Lagoon, Downtown San Mateo, Lindenville, and Shoreview.
Average noise level (dBA)
Burlingame Gate's 55.9 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 Burlingame Gate because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 51.0% of Burlingame Gate 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, 50.5% of Burlingame Gate'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 Burlingame Gate
- 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 11% of Burlingame Gate 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. San Francisco International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
