Noise Levels in Greenwood, Warwick, RI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Greenwood
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,168
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
76% of Greenwood residents
72 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Greenwood 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 2,168 Greenwood residents, or 75.9%, live above that level. By land area, 77.5% of Greenwood is above 55 dBA.
22.5% below 55 dBA
77.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Greenwood compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Greenwood
Average noise levels for Greenwood residents, grouped by direction from the center of Greenwood. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Greenwood; the lowest is in western Greenwood, where just 43% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southern Greenwood
60.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Greenwood
60.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Greenwood
60.0 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Greenwood
58.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western Greenwood
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in southern Greenwood sounds about 32% louder than in western Greenwood, a 4.0 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 Ri-113 E do you need to be?
Ri-113 E produces an estimated 65 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
65 dBA
Busy restaurant
165 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
330 ft
41 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
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 28% of Greenwood sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 37% 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.
-->
Rail Noise
Active freight rail runs through parts of Greenwood. 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
Rhode Island Tf Green International (PVD) sits northeast of Greenwood. The U.S. Department of Transportation models aviation noise around this airport from federal traffic data, 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 60 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Greenwood, 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 Greenwood
The bar chart below shows the share of Greenwood residents in each noise band. About 19% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 8% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Greenwood Compares
Greenwood sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Greenwood's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Garden City, Wildes Corner, River Point, and Lakewood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Greenwood's 57.0 dBA pop-weighted average is the highest among the peer group. Rhode Island as a whole averages 53.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Greenwood because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 75.9% of Greenwood 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, 77.5% of Greenwood's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a Rhode Island average of 36.6% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to Greenwood
- 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 Ri-113 E 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 28% of Greenwood is under tree cover (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.
- Airport noise is directional. Rhode Island Tf Green International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northeast. Neighborhoods to the southwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
