Noise Levels in 01701, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across 01701
Quiet office to normal conversation
12,031
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
38% of 01701 residents
84 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 01701 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 12,031 01701 residents, or 38.1%, live above that level. By land area, 44.5% of 01701 is above 55 dBA.
55.5% below 55 dBA
44.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 01701 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 01701
Average noise levels for 01701 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 01701. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern 01701; the lowest is in northwestern 01701, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern 01701
66.1 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern 01701
64.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern 01701
60.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western 01701
52.2 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern 01701
49.9 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southwestern 01701 sounds about 207% louder than in northwestern 01701, a 16.2 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 Massachusetts Tpke do you need to be?
Massachusetts Tpke 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 soft rainfall.
At source
77 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
56 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
49 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
41 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 52% of 01701 sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 22% 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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Airport Noise
General Edward Lawrence Logan International (BOS) sits east of 01701. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, and the model uses those federal measurements rather than synthetic predictions.
Blocks under the approach and departure paths carry combined road-plus-aviation noise, with some exceeding 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 01701, particularly to the west, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 01701
The bar chart below shows the share of 01701 residents in each noise band. About 60% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 15% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 01701 Compares
01701 sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how 01701's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 01760, 01702, 01752, and 02472.
Average noise level (dBA)
01701's 54.6 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 01701 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 38.1% of 01701 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, 44.5% of 01701'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 01701
- 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 Massachusetts Tpke 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 52% of 01701 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.
- Airport noise is directional. General Edward Lawrence Logan International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the east. Neighborhoods to the west of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
