Noise Levels in Urbanizacion San Martin, San Juan, PR | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Urbanizacion San Martin
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,708
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
47% of Urbanizacion San Martin residents
65 dBA
Loudest residential point
Busy restaurant
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Urbanizacion San Martin 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 2,708 Urbanizacion San Martin residents, or 47.1%, live above that level. By land area, 52.0% of Urbanizacion San Martin is above 55 dBA.
48.0% below 55 dBA
52.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Urbanizacion San Martin compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Urbanizacion San Martin
Average noise levels for Urbanizacion San Martin residents, grouped by direction from the center of Urbanizacion San Martin. Northern Urbanizacion San Martin carries the highest population-weighted average; Western Urbanizacion San Martin carries the lowest. Just 38% of residents in Western Urbanizacion San Martin live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in Northern Urbanizacion San Martin.
Central Urbanizacion San Martin
54.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Urbanizacion San Martin
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Urbanizacion San Martin
52.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Urbanizacion San Martin sounds about 17% louder than Western Urbanizacion San Martin to the human ear, a 2.3 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 Service [carolina] do you need to be?
Service [carolina] 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
47 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
39 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 0% of Urbanizacion San Martin sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 0% 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
Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU) sits north of Urbanizacion San Martin. 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 Urbanizacion San Martin, 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 Urbanizacion San Martin
The bar chart below shows the share of Urbanizacion San Martin residents in each noise band. About 77% 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 Urbanizacion San Martin Compares
Urbanizacion San Martin sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Urbanizacion San Martin's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Parcelas Saint Just, Villa Fontana, Urbanizacion Metropolis, and Monte Flores.
Average noise level (dBA)
Urbanizacion San Martin's 54.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Puerto Rico as a whole averages 52.9 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Urbanizacion San Martin because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 47.1% of Urbanizacion San Martin 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, 52.0% of Urbanizacion San Martin's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Puerto Rico average of 36.1% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Urbanizacion San Martin
- 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 Service [carolina] 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 0% of Urbanizacion San Martin is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), and the dominant land cover is . 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. Luis Munoz Marin International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
