Noise Levels in 01607, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across 01607
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,357
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
39% of 01607 residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 01607 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 3,357 01607 residents, or 38.7%, live above that level. By land area, 58.1% of 01607 is above 55 dBA.
41.9% below 55 dBA
58.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 01607 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 01607
Average noise levels for 01607 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 01607. The highest population-weighted average is in northern 01607; the lowest is in western 01607, where just 26% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northern 01607
67.6 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Northeastern 01607
62.7 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Eastern 01607
56.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 01607
53.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western 01607
52.7 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northern 01607 sounds about 181% louder than in western 01607, a 14.9 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 State Rte 146 do you need to be?
State Rte 146 produces an estimated 74 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
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 43% of 01607 sits under tree canopy (heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 34% 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 01607. 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 01607
The bar chart below shows the share of 01607 residents in each noise band. About 59% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 17% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 01607 Compares
01607 sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how 01607's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 01590, 01519, 01536, and 01588.
Average noise level (dBA)
01607's 55.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 01607 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 38.7% of 01607 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, 58.1% of 01607'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 01607
- 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 State Rte 146 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 43% of 01607 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.
