Noise Levels in Gateway Center, Sacramento, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Gateway Center
Quiet office to normal conversation
749
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
21% of Gateway Center residents
88 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Gateway Center 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 749 Gateway Center residents, or 21.3%, live above that level. By land area, 34.0% of Gateway Center is above 55 dBA.
66.0% below 55 dBA
34.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Gateway Center compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Gateway Center
Average noise levels for Gateway Center residents, grouped by direction from the center of Gateway Center. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Gateway Center; the lowest is in western Gateway Center, where just 9% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Gateway Center
62.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Gateway Center
55.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Gateway Center
49.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western Gateway Center
49.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in eastern Gateway Center sounds about 138% louder than in western Gateway Center, a 12.5 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 88 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 office.
At source
88 dBA
Lawnmower at 1 m
165 ft
73 dBA
City bus interior
330 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
660 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
¼ mile
48 dBA
Quiet office
½ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 9% of Gateway Center sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 54% 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
Sacramento International (SMF) sits northwest of Gateway Center. 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 Gateway Center, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Gateway Center
The bar chart below shows the share of Gateway Center residents in each noise band. About 88% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 12% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Gateway Center Compares
Gateway Center sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Gateway Center's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Village 5, Old North Sacramento, North Oak Park, and Noralto.
Average noise level (dBA)
Gateway Center's 53.7 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 Gateway Center because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 21.3% of Gateway Center 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, 34.0% of Gateway Center'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 Gateway Center
- 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 9% of Gateway Center 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 northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
