Noise Levels in Columbus Park, Worcester, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Columbus Park
Quiet office to normal conversation
6,246
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
48% of Columbus Park residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Columbus Park 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 6,246 Columbus Park residents, or 48.0%, live above that level. By land area, 49.9% of Columbus Park is above 55 dBA.
50.1% below 55 dBA
49.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Columbus Park compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Columbus Park
Average noise levels for Columbus Park residents, grouped by direction from the center of Columbus Park. The highest population-weighted average is in southeastern Columbus Park; the lowest is in northern Columbus Park, where just 30% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southeastern Columbus Park
59.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Columbus Park
58.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Columbus Park
55.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Columbus Park
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northern Columbus Park
52.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southeastern Columbus Park sounds about 64% louder than in northern Columbus Park, a 7.1 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 72 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
72 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
59 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
51 dBA
Quiet office
660 ft
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 40% of Columbus Park sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 39% 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 Columbus Park. 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 Columbus Park
The bar chart below shows the share of Columbus Park residents in each noise band. About 46% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 19% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Columbus Park Compares
Columbus Park sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how Columbus Park's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Forest Grove, Main Middle, Broadmeadow Brook, and Tatnuck.
Average noise level (dBA)
Columbus Park's 55.6 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 Columbus Park because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 48.0% of Columbus Park 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, 49.9% of Columbus Park'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 Columbus Park
- 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 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 40% of Columbus Park is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), 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.
