Noise Levels in Oak Creek, Irvine, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Oak Creek
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
4,161
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
46% of Oak Creek residents
85 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Oak Creek 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 4,161 Oak Creek residents, or 46.4%, live above that level. By land area, 49.4% of Oak Creek is above 55 dBA.
50.6% below 55 dBA
49.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Oak Creek compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Oak Creek
Average noise levels for Oak Creek residents, grouped by direction from the center of Oak Creek. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Oak Creek; the lowest is in southeastern Oak Creek, where just 50% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Oak Creek
73.8 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Western Oak Creek
70.0 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northwestern Oak Creek
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern Oak Creek
57.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Oak Creek
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southern Oak Creek sounds about 225% louder than in southeastern Oak Creek, a 17.0 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 I-405 do you need to be?
I-405 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
City bus interior
165 ft
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 6% of Oak Creek sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 67% 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 Oak Creek. 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.
Airport Noise
John Wayne/Orange County (SNA) sits west of Oak Creek. 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 65 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Oak Creek, 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 Oak Creek
The bar chart below shows the share of Oak Creek residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 24% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Oak Creek Compares
Oak Creek sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Oak Creek's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Turtle Rock, Memorial Park, Irvine Health and Science Complex, and Portola Springs.
Average noise level (dBA)
Oak Creek's 56.5 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 Oak Creek because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 46.4% of Oak Creek 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, 49.4% of Oak Creek'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 Oak Creek
- 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 I-405 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 6% of Oak Creek is under tree cover (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. John Wayne/Orange County's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
