Noise Levels in Valley High-North Laguna, Sacramento, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across Valley High-North Laguna
Quiet office to normal conversation
15,165
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
35% of Valley High-North Laguna residents
88 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Valley High-North Laguna 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 15,165 Valley High-North Laguna residents, or 35.0%, live above that level. By land area, 39.0% of Valley High-North Laguna is above 55 dBA.
61.0% below 55 dBA
39.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Valley High-North Laguna compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Valley High-North Laguna
Average noise levels for Valley High-North Laguna residents, grouped by direction from the center of Valley High-North Laguna. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Valley High-North Laguna; the lowest is in northern Valley High-North Laguna, where just 20% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Valley High-North Laguna
66.3 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southeastern Valley High-North Laguna
58.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Valley High-North Laguna
56.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Valley High-North Laguna
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Valley High-North Laguna
52.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in eastern Valley High-North Laguna sounds about 160% louder than in northern Valley High-North Laguna, a 13.8 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 S Sacramento Fwy do you need to be?
S Sacramento Fwy 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
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 4% of Valley High-North Laguna sits under tree canopy (much lighter than most neighborhoods) and roughly 52% 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 Valley High-North Laguna. 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
Sacramento International (SMF) sits northwest of Valley High-North Laguna. 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 Valley High-North Laguna, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Valley High-North Laguna
The bar chart below shows the share of Valley High-North Laguna residents in each noise band. About 71% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 4% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Valley High-North Laguna Compares
Valley High-North Laguna sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Valley High-North Laguna's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Meadowview, Pocket, Valley Oak, and South Natomas.
Average noise level (dBA)
Valley High-North Laguna's 53.3 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 Valley High-North Laguna because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 35.0% of Valley High-North Laguna 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, 39.0% of Valley High-North Laguna'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 Valley High-North Laguna
- 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 S Sacramento Fwy 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 4% of Valley High-North Laguna 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. Sacramento International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
