Noise Levels in Macdoel, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
40 dBA
Average noise across Macdoel
Soft rainfall
45
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
14% of Macdoel residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Macdoel 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 45 Macdoel residents, or 13.9%, live above that level. By land area, 10.4% of Macdoel is above 55 dBA.
89.6% below 55 dBA
10.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Macdoel compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Macdoel
Average noise levels for Macdoel residents, grouped by direction from the center of Macdoel. Western Macdoel carries the highest population-weighted average; Eastern Macdoel carries the lowest. Just 0% of residents in Eastern Macdoel live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in Western Macdoel.
Eastern Macdoel
30.7 dBA · Quiet
Whisper
Northern Macdoel
32.3 dBA · Quiet
Whisper
Southern Macdoel
44.1 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
Western Macdoel
53.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Macdoel sounds about 372% louder than Eastern Macdoel to the human ear, a 22.4 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 81 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 suburban street at night.
At source
81 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
165 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 13% of Macdoel sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 8% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Macdoel. 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 Macdoel
The bar chart below shows the share of Macdoel residents in each noise band. About 84% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 6% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Macdoel Compares
Macdoel sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Macdoel's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Mount Hebron, Little Shasta, Henley, and Dorris.
Average noise level (dBA)
Macdoel's 40.0 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 Macdoel because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 13.9% of Macdoel 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, 10.4% of Macdoel'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 Macdoel
- 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 13% of Macdoel is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), and the dominant land cover is evergreen forest. 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.
