Noise Levels in Lakewood, Sunnyvale, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across Lakewood
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,581
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
64% of Lakewood residents
84 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Lakewood 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 4,581 Lakewood residents, or 64.1%, live above that level. By land area, 59.5% of Lakewood is above 55 dBA.
40.5% below 55 dBA
59.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Lakewood compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Lakewood
Average noise levels for Lakewood residents, grouped by direction from the center of Lakewood. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Lakewood; the lowest is in eastern Lakewood, where just 26% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Lakewood
73.1 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southeastern Lakewood
70.3 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Western Lakewood
59.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Lakewood
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Lakewood
52.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Lakewood sounds about 306% louder than in eastern Lakewood, a 20.2 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 Bayshore Fwy do you need to be?
Bayshore Fwy 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
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 2% of Lakewood sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 70% 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
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International (SJC) sits southeast of Lakewood. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Lakewood, 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 Lakewood
The bar chart below shows the share of Lakewood residents in each noise band. About 35% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 32% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Lakewood Compares
Lakewood sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Lakewood's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Snail, Shoreline West, North Whisman, and Old Mountain View.
Average noise level (dBA)
Lakewood's 59.5 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 Lakewood because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 64.1% of Lakewood 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, 59.5% of Lakewood'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 Lakewood
- 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 Bayshore Fwy 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 2% of Lakewood 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. 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.
