Noise Levels in Las Positas, Santa Barbara, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Las Positas
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,215
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
21% of Las Positas residents
67 dBA
Loudest residential point
Highway traffic 50 ft away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Las Positas 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 1,215 Las Positas residents, or 20.6%, live above that level. By land area, 28.4% of Las Positas is above 55 dBA.
71.6% below 55 dBA
28.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Las Positas compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Las Positas
Average noise levels for Las Positas residents, grouped by direction from the center of Las Positas. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Las Positas; the lowest is in western Las Positas, where just 3% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Northern Las Positas
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Las Positas
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Las Positas
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Las Positas
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Western Las Positas
48.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northern Las Positas sounds about 58% louder than in western Las Positas, a 6.6 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 67 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
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
330 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
660 ft
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 18% of Las Positas sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 36% 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
Santa Barbara Municipal (SBA) sits west of Las Positas. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Las Positas, 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 Las Positas
The bar chart below shows the share of Las Positas residents in each noise band. About 79% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Las Positas Compares
Las Positas sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Las Positas's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Waterfront, Mesa, Lower East, and Eastside Santa Barbara.
Average noise level (dBA)
Las Positas's 52.4 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Las Positas because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 20.6% of Las Positas residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 28.4% of Las Positas'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 Las Positas
- 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 18% of Las Positas is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-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. Santa Barbara Municipal's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
