Noise Levels in 01915, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across 01915
Quiet office to normal conversation
16,663
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
46% of 01915 residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 01915 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 16,663 01915 residents, or 45.6%, live above that level. By land area, 49.8% of 01915 is above 55 dBA.
50.2% below 55 dBA
49.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 01915 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 01915
Average noise levels for 01915 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 01915. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern 01915; the lowest is in eastern 01915, where just 12% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern 01915
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern 01915
60.4 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern 01915
57.0 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern 01915
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 01915
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern 01915 sounds about 93% louder than in eastern 01915, a 9.5 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 Yankee Division Hwy do you need to be?
Yankee Division Hwy 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 soft rainfall.
At source
74 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
46 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 37% of 01915 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 01915. 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.
Airport Noise
General Edward Lawrence Logan International (BOS) sits southwest of 01915. 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 80 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of 01915, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across 01915
The bar chart below shows the share of 01915 residents in each noise band. About 50% 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 01915 Compares
01915 sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how 01915's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 01970, 01902, 01960, and 01923.
Average noise level (dBA)
01915's 55.4 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 01915 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 45.6% of 01915 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, 49.8% of 01915'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 01915
- 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 Yankee Division Hwy 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 37% of 01915 is under tree cover (heavier than most zip codes), and the dominant land cover is low-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.
- Airport noise is directional. General Edward Lawrence Logan International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
