Noise Levels in The Colony, Anaheim, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map

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 18,509 The Colony residents, or 62.8%, live above that level. By land area, 64.7% of The Colony is above 55 dBA.

See how noise in The Colony compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.

Noise by Part of The Colony

Average noise levels for The Colony residents, grouped by direction from the center of The Colony. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern The Colony; the lowest is in northwestern The Colony, where just 38% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.

To the human ear, noise in southwestern The Colony sounds about 185% louder than in northwestern The Colony, a 15.1 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.

Rail Noise

Active freight rail runs through parts of The Colony. 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

John Wayne/Orange County (SNA) sits south of The Colony. 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 The Colony, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.

How Noise Is Distributed Across The Colony

The bar chart below shows the share of The Colony residents in each noise band. About 30% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 28% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.

How The Colony Compares

The Colony sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how The Colony's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with La Habra City, Riverview West, Northeast, and Brea-Olinda.

Average noise level (dBA)

The Colony's 58.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. California as a whole averages 54.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than The Colony because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.

Share of residents above 55 dBA

About 62.8% of The Colony 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, 64.7% of The Colony'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 The Colony

• 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 5% of The Colony is under tree cover (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. John Wayne/Orange County's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.

Sources & Methodology