Noise Levels in 03868, NH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
49 dBA
Average noise across 03868
Quiet office
742
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
14% of 03868 residents
78 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across 03868 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 742 03868 residents, or 14.4%, live above that level. By land area, 24.0% of 03868 is above 55 dBA.
76.0% below 55 dBA
24.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in 03868 compares to similar-sized zip codes.
Noise by Part of 03868
Average noise levels for 03868 residents, grouped by direction from the center of 03868. The highest population-weighted average is in western 03868; the lowest is in southeastern 03868, where just 4% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Western 03868
53.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central 03868
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern 03868
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern 03868
51.4 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern 03868
44.4 dBA · Quiet
Quiet suburban street at night
To the human ear, noise in western 03868 sounds about 92% louder than in southeastern 03868, a 9.4 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 Salmon Falls Rd do you need to be?
Salmon Falls Rd produces an estimated 57 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
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
660 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 49% of 03868 sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most zip codes) and roughly 20% 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 03868. 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 03868
The bar chart below shows the share of 03868 residents in each noise band. About 89% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How 03868 Compares
03868 sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how 03868's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with 03835, 03839, 03290, and 03851.
Average noise level (dBA)
03868's 49.2 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. New Hampshire as a whole averages 48.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than 03868 because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 14.4% of 03868 residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's more than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 24.0% of 03868's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Hampshire average of 18.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to 03868
- 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 Salmon Falls Rd 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 49% of 03868 is under tree cover (much 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.
