Noise Levels in Santa Clarita, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Santa Clarita
Quiet office
16,616
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
22% of Santa Clarita residents
84 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Santa Clarita 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 16,616 Santa Clarita residents, or 22.3%, live above that level. By land area, 23.6% of Santa Clarita is above 55 dBA.
76.4% below 55 dBA
23.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Santa Clarita compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Santa Clarita
Average noise levels for Santa Clarita residents, grouped by direction from the center of Santa Clarita. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Santa Clarita; the lowest is in northern Santa Clarita, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Santa Clarita
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Santa Clarita
54.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Santa Clarita
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northeastern Santa Clarita
49.5 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Santa Clarita
48.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Santa Clarita sounds about 67% louder than in northern Santa Clarita, a 7.4 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 State Rte 14 do you need to be?
State Rte 14 produces an estimated 69 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
69 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
165 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
42 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 8% of Santa Clarita sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 41% 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 Santa Clarita. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Santa Clarita
The bar chart below shows the share of Santa Clarita residents in each noise band. About 86% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Santa Clarita Compares
Santa Clarita sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Santa Clarita's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Canyon Country, Sylmar, Northridge, and Canoga Park.
Average noise level (dBA)
Santa Clarita's 50.9 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 Santa Clarita because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 22.3% of Santa Clarita 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, 23.6% of Santa Clarita'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 Santa Clarita
- 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 14 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 8% of Santa Clarita is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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.
