Noise Levels in South Park, Los Angeles, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across South Park
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
8,187
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
79% of South Park residents
88 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across South Park 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 8,187 South Park residents, or 78.8%, live above that level. By land area, 86.5% of South Park is above 55 dBA.
13.5% below 55 dBA
86.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in South Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of South Park
Average noise levels for South Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of South Park. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern South Park; the lowest is in northeastern South Park, where just 40% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern South Park
76.0 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southern South Park
73.4 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Central South Park
62.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern South Park
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southwestern South Park sounds about 292% louder than in northeastern South Park, a 19.7 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 110 do you need to be?
State Rte 110 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 soft rainfall.
At source
79 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 1% of South Park sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 90% 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 South Park. 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
Los Angeles International (LAX) sits southwest of South Park. 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 South Park, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across South Park
The bar chart below shows the share of South Park residents in each noise band. About 17% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 46% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How South Park Compares
South Park sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how South Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Chinatown, Wholesale District-Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles, and Civic Center Little Tokyo.
Average noise level (dBA)
South Park's 60.1 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 South Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 78.8% of South Park 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, 86.5% of South Park'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 South Park
- 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 110 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 1% of South Park is under tree cover (much lighter than most neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is high-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. Los Angeles International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
