Noise Levels in Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Noe Valley
Quiet office to normal conversation
6,505
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
35% of Noe Valley residents
62 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Noe Valley 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 6,505 Noe Valley residents, or 34.8%, live above that level. By land area, 36.0% of Noe Valley is above 55 dBA.
64.0% below 55 dBA
36.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Noe Valley compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Noe Valley
Average noise levels for Noe Valley residents, grouped by direction from the center of Noe Valley. The highest population-weighted average is in western Noe Valley; the lowest is in northwestern Noe Valley, where just 20% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Western Noe Valley
55.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Noe Valley
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Noe Valley
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Noe Valley
52.0 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Noe Valley
51.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in western Noe Valley sounds about 29% louder than in northwestern Noe Valley, a 3.7 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 62 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
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 13% of Noe Valley sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 62% 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.
-->
Airport Noise
San Francisco International (SFO) sits south of Noe Valley. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Noe Valley, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Noe Valley
The bar chart below shows the share of Noe Valley residents in each noise band. About 69% 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 Noe Valley Compares
Noe Valley sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Noe Valley's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Nob Hill, Ocean View, Visitacion Valley, and Inner Sunset.
Average noise level (dBA)
Noe Valley's 52.6 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 Noe Valley because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 34.8% of Noe Valley 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, 36.0% of Noe Valley'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 Noe Valley
- 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 Noe Valley is under tree cover (about average for 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. San Francisco International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
