Noise Levels in Upper State, Santa Barbara, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Upper State
Quiet office to normal conversation
6,269
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
35% of Upper State residents
83 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Upper State 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 6,269 Upper State residents, or 34.9%, live above that level. By land area, 37.1% of Upper State is above 55 dBA.
62.9% below 55 dBA
37.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Upper State compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Upper State
Average noise levels for Upper State residents, grouped by direction from the center of Upper State. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Upper State; the lowest is in northeastern Upper State, where just 15% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Upper State
69.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southern Upper State
64.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Upper State
53.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Upper State
50.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Northeastern Upper State
49.1 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Upper State sounds about 317% louder than in northeastern Upper State, a 20.6 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 El Camino Real do you need to be?
El Camino Real produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 13% of Upper State sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 39% 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 Upper State. 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
Santa Barbara Municipal (SBA) sits west of Upper State. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Upper State, particularly to the east, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Upper State
The bar chart below shows the share of Upper State residents in each noise band. About 66% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Upper State Compares
Upper State sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Upper State's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Westside-Santa Barbara, Riviera, Mesa, and Las Positas.
Average noise level (dBA)
Upper State's 55.0 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 Upper State because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 34.9% of Upper State 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, 37.1% of Upper State'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 Upper State
- 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 El Camino Real 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 Upper State is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is low-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. Santa Barbara Municipal's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the west. Neighborhoods to the east of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
