Noise Levels in West Hills, CA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across West Hills
Quiet office to normal conversation
9,633
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
31% of West Hills residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across West Hills 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 9,633 West Hills residents, or 30.6%, live above that level. By land area, 29.6% of West Hills is above 55 dBA.
70.4% below 55 dBA
29.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in West Hills compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of West Hills
Average noise levels for West Hills residents, grouped by direction from the center of West Hills. The highest population-weighted average is in southern West Hills; the lowest is in western West Hills, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southern West Hills
56.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern West Hills
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern West Hills
54.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern West Hills
48.3 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Western West Hills
39.4 dBA · Quiet
Soft rainfall
To the human ear, noise in southern West Hills sounds about 225% louder than in western West Hills, a 17.0 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 72 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
72 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 7% of West Hills sits under tree canopy (lighter than most cities) and roughly 46% 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 east of West Hills. 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 West Hills, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across West Hills
The bar chart below shows the share of West Hills residents in each noise band. About 71% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How West Hills Compares
West Hills sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how West Hills's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Chatsworth, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, and Moorpark.
Average noise level (dBA)
West Hills's 52.7 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 West Hills because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 30.6% of West Hills 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, 29.6% of West Hills'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 West Hills
- 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 7% of West Hills is under tree cover (lighter than most cities), 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 east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
