Noise Levels in East San Gabriel, San Gabriel, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across East San Gabriel
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,023
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
35% of East San Gabriel residents
74 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across East San Gabriel 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 3,023 East San Gabriel residents, or 34.7%, live above that level. By land area, 37.2% of East San Gabriel is above 55 dBA.
62.8% below 55 dBA
37.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in East San Gabriel compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of East San Gabriel
Average noise levels for East San Gabriel residents, grouped by direction from the center of East San Gabriel. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern East San Gabriel; the lowest is in central East San Gabriel, where just 21% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern East San Gabriel
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern East San Gabriel
56.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern East San Gabriel
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern East San Gabriel
54.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central East San Gabriel
52.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern East San Gabriel sounds about 83% louder than in central East San Gabriel, a 8.7 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 74 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
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 8% of East San Gabriel sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 58% 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
Bob Hope (BUR) sits west of East San Gabriel. 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 East San Gabriel, 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 East San Gabriel
The bar chart below shows the share of East San Gabriel residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 21% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How East San Gabriel Compares
East San Gabriel sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how East San Gabriel's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with South East, Madison Heights, Normandie Heights, and North Arroyo.
Average noise level (dBA)
East San Gabriel's 54.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than East San Gabriel because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 34.7% of East San Gabriel 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, 37.2% of East San Gabriel'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 East San Gabriel
- 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 8% of East San Gabriel 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. Bob Hope's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
