Noise Levels in Redwood Village, Redwood City, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Redwood Village
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,137
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
41% of Redwood Village residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Redwood Village 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 1,137 Redwood Village residents, or 40.8%, live above that level. By land area, 53.1% of Redwood Village is above 55 dBA.
46.9% below 55 dBA
53.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Redwood Village compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Redwood Village
Average noise levels for Redwood Village residents, grouped by direction from the center of Redwood Village. Northern Redwood Village carries the highest population-weighted average; Central Redwood Village carries the lowest. Just 45% of residents in Central Redwood Village live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in Northern Redwood Village.
Central Redwood Village
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Redwood Village
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Redwood Village
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Redwood Village
56.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Redwood Village
55.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Redwood Village sounds about 54% louder than Central Redwood Village to the human ear, a 6.2 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 State Rte 84 do you need to be?
State Rte 84 produces an estimated 79 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
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 6% of Redwood Village sits under tree canopy (lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 66% 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 Redwood Village. 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
San Francisco International (SFO) sits northwest of Redwood Village. 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 Redwood Village, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Redwood Village
The bar chart below shows the share of Redwood Village residents in each noise band. About 44% 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 Redwood Village Compares
Redwood Village sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Redwood Village's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with West Atherton, Downtown North San Jose, University South, and Downtown Menlo Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Redwood Village's 55.2 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 Redwood Village because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 40.8% of Redwood Village 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, 53.1% of Redwood Village'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 Redwood Village
- 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 State Rte 84 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 Redwood Village 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. San Francisco International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
