Noise Levels in East Boston, Boston, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across East Boston
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
20,358
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
86% of East Boston residents
89 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across East Boston 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 20,358 East Boston residents, or 85.9%, live above that level. By land area, 81.8% of East Boston is above 55 dBA.
18.2% below 55 dBA
81.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in East Boston compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of East Boston
Average noise levels for East Boston residents, grouped by direction from the center of East Boston. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern East Boston; the lowest is in western East Boston, where just 87% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern East Boston
63.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern East Boston
62.0 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southern East Boston
60.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Eastern East Boston
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western East Boston
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southwestern East Boston sounds about 25% louder than in western East Boston, a 3.2 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 76 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
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
62 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
54 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 12% of East Boston sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 72% 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 East Boston. 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 southeast of East Boston. 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 85 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of East Boston, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across East Boston
The bar chart below shows the share of East Boston residents in each noise band. About 4% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 40% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How East Boston Compares
East Boston sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how East Boston's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with South End, North Dorchester, Fenway-Kenmore, and North Cambridge.
Average noise level (dBA)
East Boston's 59.8 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 East Boston because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 85.9% of East Boston 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, 81.8% of East Boston'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 East Boston
- 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 12% of East Boston is under tree cover (about average for neighborhoods), 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.
- Airport noise is directional. General Edward Lawrence Logan International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
