Noise Levels in 01604, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across 01604
Quiet office to normal conversation
16,908
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
48% of 01604 residents
95 dBA
Loudest residential point
Power saw
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 01604 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 16,908 01604 residents, or 48.5%, live above that level. By land area, 53.0% of 01604 is above 55 dBA.
47.0% below 55 dBA
53.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 01604 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 01604
Average noise levels for 01604 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 01604. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 01604; the lowest is in southern 01604, where just 22% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 01604
61.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern 01604
60.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern 01604
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern 01604
55.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern 01604
54.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 01604 sounds about 68% louder than in southern 01604, a 7.5 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 I-290 do you need to be?
I-290 produces an estimated 77 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
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 36% of 01604 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 43% 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 01604. 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 01604
The bar chart below shows the share of 01604 residents in each noise band. About 47% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 14% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 01604 Compares
01604 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 01604's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 01545, 01610, 01605, and 01609.
Average noise level (dBA)
01604's 55.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 01604 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 48.5% of 01604 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, 53.0% of 01604'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 01604
- 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 I-290 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 36% of 01604 is under tree cover (heavier than most zip codes), 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.
