Noise Levels in Cooley Ranch, Colton, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Cooley Ranch
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,164
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
52% of Cooley Ranch residents
87 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Cooley Ranch 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 3,164 Cooley Ranch residents, or 52.1%, live above that level. By land area, 61.2% of Cooley Ranch is above 55 dBA.
38.8% below 55 dBA
61.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Cooley Ranch compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Cooley Ranch
Average noise levels for Cooley Ranch residents, grouped by direction from the center of Cooley Ranch. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Cooley Ranch; the lowest is in eastern Cooley Ranch, where just 58% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Cooley Ranch
69.0 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northeastern Cooley Ranch
68.4 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Cooley Ranch
67.9 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern Cooley Ranch
63.7 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Cooley Ranch sounds about 44% louder than in eastern Cooley Ranch, a 5.3 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 I-215 do you need to be?
I-215 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 soft rainfall.
At source
80 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 0% of Cooley Ranch sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 45% 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 Cooley Ranch. 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
Ontario International (ONT) sits west of Cooley Ranch. 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 Cooley Ranch, particularly to the east, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Cooley Ranch
The bar chart below shows the share of Cooley Ranch residents in each noise band. About 37% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 40% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Cooley Ranch Compares
Cooley Ranch sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Cooley Ranch's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Curtis, Cajon, San Gorgonio, and SBHS.
Average noise level (dBA)
Cooley Ranch's 58.5 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Cooley Ranch because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 52.1% of Cooley Ranch 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, 61.2% of Cooley Ranch'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 Cooley Ranch
- 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 I-215 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 0% of Cooley Ranch 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. Ontario International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
