Noise Levels in River Gardens, Sacramento, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across River Gardens
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
1,404
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
48% of River Gardens residents
71 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across River Gardens 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 1,404 River Gardens residents, or 48.4%, live above that level. By land area, 46.1% of River Gardens is above 55 dBA.
53.9% below 55 dBA
46.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in River Gardens compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of River Gardens
Average noise levels for River Gardens residents, grouped by direction from the center of River Gardens. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern River Gardens; the lowest is in western River Gardens, where just 47% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Eastern River Gardens
63.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central River Gardens
61.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Western River Gardens
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
To the human ear, noise in eastern River Gardens sounds about 16% louder than in western River Gardens, a 2.2 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 71 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
71 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 2% of River Gardens sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 50% 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 River Gardens. 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
Sacramento International (SMF) sits northwest of River Gardens. 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 River Gardens, 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 River Gardens
The bar chart below shows the share of River Gardens residents in each noise band. About 23% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 30% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How River Gardens Compares
River Gardens sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how River Gardens's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with broderick-west-sacramento-ca, West del Paso Heights, Strawberry Manor, and south-american-river-industrial-park-sacramento-ca.
Average noise level (dBA)
River Gardens's 58.1 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 River Gardens because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 48.4% of River Gardens 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, 46.1% of River Gardens'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 River Gardens
- 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 2% of River Gardens is under tree cover (much 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. Sacramento International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
