Noise Levels in Foothill Junction, Roseville, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Foothill Junction
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,081
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
36% of Foothill Junction residents
73 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Foothill Junction 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 1,081 Foothill Junction residents, or 35.5%, live above that level. By land area, 29.6% of Foothill Junction is above 55 dBA.
70.4% below 55 dBA
29.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Foothill Junction compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Foothill Junction
Average noise levels for Foothill Junction residents, grouped by direction from the center of Foothill Junction. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Foothill Junction; the lowest is in northern Foothill Junction, where just 29% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Foothill Junction
62.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Foothill Junction
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Foothill Junction
59.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Foothill Junction
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Foothill Junction
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Foothill Junction sounds about 60% louder than in northern Foothill Junction, a 6.8 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 73 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
73 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
42 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 Foothill Junction sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 50% 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
Sacramento International (SMF) sits west of Foothill Junction. 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 Foothill Junction, 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 Foothill Junction
The bar chart below shows the share of Foothill Junction residents in each noise band. About 60% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 30% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Foothill Junction Compares
Foothill Junction sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Foothill Junction's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Junction West, Johnson Ranch, Blue Oaks, and roseville-sacramento-roseville-ca.
Average noise level (dBA)
Foothill Junction's 56.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Foothill Junction because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 35.5% of Foothill Junction 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, 29.6% of Foothill Junction'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 Foothill Junction
- 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 Foothill Junction 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. Sacramento International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
