Noise Levels in Pico-Lowell, Santa Ana, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Pico-Lowell
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,001
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
36% of Pico-Lowell residents
63 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Pico-Lowell 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 3,001 Pico-Lowell residents, or 35.9%, live above that level. By land area, 42.2% of Pico-Lowell is above 55 dBA.
57.8% below 55 dBA
42.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Pico-Lowell compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Pico-Lowell
Average noise levels for Pico-Lowell residents, grouped by direction from the center of Pico-Lowell. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Pico-Lowell; the lowest is in northeastern Pico-Lowell, where just 38% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Pico-Lowell
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Pico-Lowell
55.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Pico-Lowell
55.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Pico-Lowell
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Pico-Lowell sounds about 17% louder than in northeastern Pico-Lowell, a 2.3 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 63 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
63 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 6% of Pico-Lowell sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 60% 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
John Wayne/Orange County (SNA) sits south of Pico-Lowell. 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 Pico-Lowell, 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 Pico-Lowell
The bar chart below shows the share of Pico-Lowell residents in each noise band. About 59% 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 Pico-Lowell Compares
Pico-Lowell sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Pico-Lowell's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Memorial Park, Sandpointe, Mid City-Santa Ana, and Henninger Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Pico-Lowell's 53.4 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 Pico-Lowell because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 35.9% of Pico-Lowell 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, 42.2% of Pico-Lowell'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 Pico-Lowell
- 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 6% of Pico-Lowell 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 south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
