Decibel Shield

Stockton noise map: where the city is loudest

Stockton ranks ninth in the US: 9.2% of residents live above 60 dB. Freight surrounds the city on every side — I-5 through downtown, the Route 4 Crosstown Freeway across its middle, Highway 99 on the east edge, a deep-water port and major rail yards.

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Census-tract noise map of Stockton, CA: tracts colored green (few residents above 60 dB transportation noise) to red (half or more residents above 60 dB). The loudest tracts follow the Crosstown Freeway, I-5 and the rail corridors.
Every census tract colored by the share of its residents exposed to ≥60 dB average-day transportation noise — real values per tract from the federal BTS 2020 noise map, no interpolation.
Stockton noise exposure at a glance
US rank (of 100 largest cities) #9
Residents above 60 dB 9.2%
Residents above 70 dB 2.3%
Residents in the 45–60 dB band 49.8%
Population (ACS 2016–2020) 289,925
Census tracts mapped 68

Stockton is a freight city in every direction. I-5 runs through downtown and the Route 4 Crosstown Freeway cuts straight across the city’s middle — a 1960s alignment that demolished much of the historic Little Manila district, one of the era’s textbook freeway-through-the-neighborhood decisions. Highway 99 closes the loop along the eastern edge.

Then comes the freight that isn’t on rubber wheels: Stockton operates an inland deep-water port reached by ship channel from the Bay, and BNSF runs a major intermodal facility on the city’s edge with Union Pacific’s yard just south. Between the highways, the port and the rail corridors, the tract map shows orange threading through a city that handles a remarkable share of Northern California’s goods movement for its size.

Stockton noise: the specifics

  • The Route 4 Crosstown Freeway’s 1960s construction demolished much of the historic Little Manila neighborhood.
  • Stockton operates an inland deep-water seaport, reached by ship channel from San Francisco Bay.
  • BNSF runs a major intermodal rail facility at the city’s edge, with Union Pacific’s yard just south in Lathrop.
  • 9.2% of residents above 60 dB ranks #9 among the 100 largest US cities — see the full measured ranking.

How this map is made

This is a transparent aggregation of federal data, not an estimate: the BTS 2020 National Transportation Noise Map (road + rail + aviation) overlaid with Census ACS 2016–2020 population at tract level, clipped to the city boundary. Full methodology, limitations and the free CSV/JSON are on the US cities noise ranking. Remember what it doesn’t count: sirens, construction, nightlife and neighbors are outside the model.

How loud is your block?

The map shows averages by tract — your street is its own story. Measure it with the free online decibel meter → No install, nothing recorded.

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