Noise Levels in Quail Hill, Irvine, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Quail Hill
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,357
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
43% of Quail Hill residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Quail Hill 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 2,357 Quail Hill residents, or 43.0%, live above that level. By land area, 42.9% of Quail Hill is above 55 dBA.
57.1% below 55 dBA
42.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Quail Hill compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Quail Hill
Average noise levels for Quail Hill residents, grouped by direction from the center of Quail Hill. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Quail Hill; the lowest is in northwestern Quail Hill, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Quail Hill
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Quail Hill
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Quail Hill
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Quail Hill
54.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Quail Hill
50.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in eastern Quail Hill sounds about 99% louder than in northwestern Quail Hill, a 9.9 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 72 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
72 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 17% of Quail Hill 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.
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Airport Noise
John Wayne/Orange County (SNA) sits west of Quail Hill. 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 Quail Hill, 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 Quail Hill
The bar chart below shows the share of Quail Hill residents in each noise band. About 56% 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 Quail Hill Compares
Quail Hill sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Quail Hill's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with University Town Center, Irvine Business Complex, El Toro Marine Air Station, and Central City Santa Ana.
Average noise level (dBA)
Quail Hill's 54.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Quail Hill because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 43.0% of Quail Hill 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, 42.9% of Quail Hill'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 Quail Hill
- 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 17% of Quail Hill 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. 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.
