Noise Levels in Crescent Park, Palo Alto, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Crescent Park
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,076
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
35% of Crescent Park residents
60 dBA
Loudest residential point
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Crescent Park 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 1,076 Crescent Park residents, or 34.7%, live above that level. By land area, 39.8% of Crescent Park is above 55 dBA.
60.2% below 55 dBA
39.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Crescent Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Crescent Park
Average noise levels for Crescent Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Crescent Park. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Crescent Park; the lowest is in eastern Crescent Park, where just 35% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Crescent Park
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Crescent Park
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Crescent Park
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Crescent Park
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Crescent Park sounds about 15% louder than in eastern Crescent Park, a 2.0 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 60 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
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
36 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 21% of Crescent Park sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 37% 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
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International (SJC) sits southeast of Crescent Park. 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 Crescent Park, 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 Crescent Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Crescent Park residents in each noise band. About 77% 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 Crescent Park Compares
Crescent Park sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Crescent Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with University South, Downtown North San Jose, Duveneck-Saint Francis, and Downtown Menlo Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Crescent Park's 52.5 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 Crescent Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 34.7% of Crescent Park 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, 39.8% of Crescent Park'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 Crescent Park
- 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 21% of Crescent Park is under tree cover (heavier than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-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. Norman Y Mineta San Jose International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
