Noise Levels in Hopedale, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Hopedale
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,308
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
24% of Hopedale residents
75 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Hopedale 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 1,308 Hopedale residents, or 23.6%, live above that level. By land area, 29.8% of Hopedale is above 55 dBA.
70.2% below 55 dBA
29.8% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Hopedale compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Hopedale
Average noise levels for Hopedale residents, grouped by direction from the center of Hopedale. The highest population-weighted average is in southern Hopedale; the lowest is in western Hopedale, where just 11% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southern Hopedale
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Hopedale
53.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Hopedale
51.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Hopedale
51.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Hopedale
50.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southern Hopedale sounds about 30% louder than in western Hopedale, a 3.8 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 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
52 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
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 57% of Hopedale sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 18% 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 Hopedale. 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 Hopedale
The bar chart below shows the share of Hopedale residents in each noise band. About 84% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 5% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Hopedale Compares
Hopedale sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Hopedale's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Mendon, South Grafton, Northbridge, and Upton.
Average noise level (dBA)
Hopedale's 51.8 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 Hopedale because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 23.6% of Hopedale 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, 29.8% of Hopedale'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 Hopedale
- 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 57% of Hopedale is under tree cover (heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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.
