Noise Levels in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Historic Filipinotown
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
12,160
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
65% of Historic Filipinotown residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Historic Filipinotown 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 12,160 Historic Filipinotown residents, or 65.2%, live above that level. By land area, 73.2% of Historic Filipinotown is above 55 dBA.
26.8% below 55 dBA
73.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Historic Filipinotown compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Historic Filipinotown
Average noise levels for Historic Filipinotown residents, grouped by direction from the center of Historic Filipinotown. Northern Historic Filipinotown carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Historic Filipinotown carries the lowest. Just 46% of residents in Western Historic Filipinotown live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Northern Historic Filipinotown.
Central Historic Filipinotown
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Historic Filipinotown
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Historic Filipinotown
63.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern Historic Filipinotown
58.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Historic Filipinotown
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Historic Filipinotown sounds about 77% louder than Western Historic Filipinotown to the human ear, a 8.2 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 US Hwy 101 do you need to be?
US Hwy 101 produces an estimated 78 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
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 1% of Historic Filipinotown sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 75% 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 northwest of Historic Filipinotown. 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 Historic Filipinotown, 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 Historic Filipinotown
The bar chart below shows the share of Historic Filipinotown residents in each noise band. About 34% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 34% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Historic Filipinotown Compares
Historic Filipinotown sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Historic Filipinotown's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Jefferson Park, Highland Park, West Central, and Mariposa.
Average noise level (dBA)
Historic Filipinotown's 58.0 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 Historic Filipinotown because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 65.2% of Historic Filipinotown 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, 73.2% of Historic Filipinotown'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 Historic Filipinotown
- 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 US Hwy 101 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 1% of Historic Filipinotown 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. Bob Hope's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
