San Francisco Airport Aircraft Noise Levels from Community Monitoring Sites

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) maintains a dataset of aircraft noise levels measured 24/7 at 29 community monitoring sites. The dataset includes measured noise events and calculated Aircraft Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) metrics, used to assess and regulate noise exposure. Data is available from March 2017, with monthly updates, and is produced by the SFO Noise Abatement Office.

Use Cases

• Validate the 65-decibel noise impact contour based on annual Aircraft CNEL calculations.
• Produce monthly noise level reports for the Airport Director's Report.
• Assess aircraft noise exposure trends in residential communities surrounding SFO.
• Correlate aircraft noise events with specific flight operations using ANEEM algorithms.

Strengths

• Data originates from 29 fixed monitoring sites, providing spatial coverage.
• Continuous 24/7 measurement ensures temporal completeness.
• Monthly update frequency supports near-real-time analysis.
• Includes both raw noise events and derived CNEL metrics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific 29 monitoring locations.

Provenance

Source

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Noise Abatement Office.

Collection Method

Measured aircraft noise events at 29 community monitoring sites, processed with ANEEM algorithms.

Time Range

From March 2017 onward; ANEEM-derived data from January 2023.

Freshness

Updated monthly; last metadata update was 2026-03-15.

Geography

Communities surrounding San Francisco International Airport.