Noise Levels in Forest Hills, Jamaica Plain, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
58 dBA
Average noise across Forest Hills
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,244
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
70% of Forest Hills residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Forest Hills 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 3,244 Forest Hills residents, or 70.3%, live above that level. By land area, 73.6% of Forest Hills is above 55 dBA.
26.4% below 55 dBA
73.6% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Forest Hills compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Forest Hills
Average noise levels for Forest Hills residents, grouped by direction from the center of Forest Hills. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Forest Hills; the lowest is in southern Forest Hills, where just 61% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, three-quarters of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Forest Hills
63.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Forest Hills
60.7 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Forest Hills
60.6 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Forest Hills
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern Forest Hills
57.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Forest Hills sounds about 51% louder than in southern Forest Hills, a 5.9 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 82 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
82 dBA
Food blender at arm’s length
165 ft
68 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 29% of Forest Hills sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 56% 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 Forest Hills. 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 northeast of Forest Hills. 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 Forest Hills, particularly to the southwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Forest Hills
The bar chart below shows the share of Forest Hills residents in each noise band. About 16% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 30% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Forest Hills Compares
Forest Hills sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Forest Hills's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Area IV, East Dedham, Brookline Village, and Wellington-Harrington.
Average noise level (dBA)
Forest Hills's 58.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Forest Hills because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 70.3% of Forest Hills 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, 73.6% of Forest Hills'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 Forest Hills
- 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 29% of Forest Hills is under tree cover (heavier than most 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 northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
