Noise Levels in Sabana Seca, PR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Sabana Seca
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
799
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
36% of Sabana Seca residents
77 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Sabana Seca 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 799 Sabana Seca residents, or 36.3%, live above that level. By land area, 51.2% of Sabana Seca is above 55 dBA.
48.8% below 55 dBA
51.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Sabana Seca compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Sabana Seca
Average noise levels for Sabana Seca residents, grouped by direction from the center of Sabana Seca. Central Sabana Seca carries the highest population-weighted average; Northern Sabana Seca carries the lowest. Just 32% of residents in Northern Sabana Seca live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in Central Sabana Seca.
Central Sabana Seca
61.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern Sabana Seca
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern Sabana Seca
53.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Sabana Seca
58.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Sabana Seca sounds about 79% louder than Northern Sabana Seca to the human ear, a 8.4 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 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 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 0% of Sabana Seca sits under tree canopy (about average for cities) and roughly 0% 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
Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU) sits east of Sabana Seca. 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 Sabana Seca, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Sabana Seca
The bar chart below shows the share of Sabana Seca residents in each noise band. About 23% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 52% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Sabana Seca Compares
Sabana Seca sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Sabana Seca's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Levittown, Fort Buchanan, Playa Cortada, and Arroyo.
Average noise level (dBA)
Sabana Seca's 58.5 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Puerto Rico as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Sabana Seca because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 36.3% of Sabana Seca 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, 51.2% of Sabana Seca's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Puerto Rico average of 36.1% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Sabana Seca
- 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 0% of Sabana Seca is under tree cover (about average for cities), and the dominant land cover is . 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. Luis Munoz Marin International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
