Noise Levels in Sunshine Gardens, South San Francisco, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Sunshine Gardens
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,183
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
45% of Sunshine Gardens residents
60 dBA
Loudest residential point
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Sunshine 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 2,183 Sunshine Gardens residents, or 45.0%, live above that level. By land area, 33.2% of Sunshine Gardens is above 55 dBA.
66.8% below 55 dBA
33.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Sunshine Gardens compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Sunshine Gardens
Average noise levels for Sunshine Gardens residents, grouped by direction from the center of Sunshine Gardens. Southern Sunshine Gardens carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Sunshine Gardens carries the lowest. Just 20% of residents in Western Sunshine Gardens live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in Southern Sunshine Gardens.
Central Sunshine Gardens
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Sunshine Gardens
53.1 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Sunshine Gardens
56.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Sunshine Gardens
51.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Sunshine Gardens sounds about 43% louder than Western Sunshine Gardens to the human ear, a 5.2 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 60 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
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
46 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 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 Sunshine Gardens sits under tree canopy (much 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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Airport Noise
San Francisco International (SFO) sits southeast of Sunshine Gardens. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Sunshine Gardens, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Sunshine Gardens
The bar chart below shows the share of Sunshine Gardens residents in each noise band. About 52% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 0% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Sunshine Gardens Compares
Sunshine Gardens sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Sunshine Gardens's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Westview, Crocker, El Camino, and Serra Highlands.
Average noise level (dBA)
Sunshine Gardens's 54.5 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 Sunshine Gardens because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 45.0% of Sunshine 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, 33.2% of Sunshine 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 Sunshine 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 Sunshine 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. San Francisco International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
