Noise Levels in 01247, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across 01247
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,697
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
28% of 01247 residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 01247 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 3,697 01247 residents, or 28.2%, live above that level. By land area, 30.5% of 01247 is above 55 dBA.
69.5% below 55 dBA
30.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 01247 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 01247
Average noise levels for 01247 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 01247. The highest population-weighted average is in central 01247; the lowest is in southeastern 01247, where just 8% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Central 01247
55.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 01247
54.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern 01247
51.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 01247
50.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
Southeastern 01247
48.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in central 01247 sounds about 71% louder than in southeastern 01247, a 7.7 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 81 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
81 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 54% of 01247 sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 25% 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 01247. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 01247
The bar chart below shows the share of 01247 residents in each noise band. About 73% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 3% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 01247 Compares
01247 sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how 01247's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 01267, 01220, 01301, and 01060.
Average noise level (dBA)
01247's 51.4 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 01247 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 28.2% of 01247 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, 30.5% of 01247's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Massachusetts average of 40.0% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 01247
- 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 54% of 01247 is under tree cover (much heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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.
