Noise Levels in Linda, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Linda
Quiet office
3,668
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
23% of Linda residents
84 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Linda 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 3,668 Linda residents, or 22.9%, live above that level. By land area, 29.3% of Linda is above 55 dBA.
70.7% below 55 dBA
29.3% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Linda compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Linda
Average noise levels for Linda residents, grouped by direction from the center of Linda. Western Linda carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern Linda carries the lowest. Just 9% of residents in Northern Linda live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in Western Linda.
Central Linda
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Linda
48.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Linda
48.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Southern Linda
52.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Linda
53.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Linda sounds about 46% louder than Northern Linda to the human ear, a 5.5 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 State Rte 70 do you need to be?
State Rte 70 produces an estimated 74 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
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 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 1% of Linda sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most cities) and roughly 35% 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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Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Linda. For most blocks the rail-only contribution is small. Combined road-plus-rail noise rarely exceeds road noise on its own. The exceptions are the handful of blocks within roughly a quarter mile of the right-of-way during pass-through hours.
Use the Rail toggle on the map above to isolate rail's contribution from road and aviation.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Linda
The bar chart below shows the share of Linda residents in each noise band. About 83% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Linda Compares
Linda sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Linda's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Marysville, Olivehurst, Gridley, and Live Oak.
Average noise level (dBA)
Linda's 51.0 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 Linda because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.9% of Linda 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, 29.3% of Linda'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 Linda
- 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 State Rte 70 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 Linda is under tree cover (much lighter than most cities), 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.
