Noise Levels in Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across Toluca Lake
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,380
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
78% of Toluca Lake residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Toluca Lake 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 2,380 Toluca Lake residents, or 78.3%, live above that level. By land area, 84.8% of Toluca Lake is above 55 dBA.
15.2% below 55 dBA
84.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Toluca Lake compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Toluca Lake
Average noise levels for Toluca Lake residents, grouped by direction from the center of Toluca Lake. The highest population-weighted average is in central Toluca Lake; the lowest is in southeastern Toluca Lake, where just 26% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Central Toluca Lake
63.2 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Toluca Lake
56.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Toluca Lake
55.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in central Toluca Lake sounds about 71% louder than in southeastern Toluca Lake, a 7.7 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 134 do you need to be?
State Rte 134 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 13% of Toluca Lake sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 48% 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
Bob Hope (BUR) sits north of Toluca Lake. 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 50 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Toluca Lake, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Toluca Lake
The bar chart below shows the share of Toluca Lake residents in each noise band. About 24% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 53% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Toluca Lake Compares
Toluca Lake sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Toluca Lake's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with moorpark-glendale-ca, Woodbury-Glendale, Fremont Park, and Clarkdale.
Average noise level (dBA)
Toluca Lake's 60.0 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 Toluca Lake because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 78.3% of Toluca Lake 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, 84.8% of Toluca Lake'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 Toluca Lake
- 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 134 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 13% of Toluca Lake is under tree cover (about average for 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. Bob Hope's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
