Noise Levels in Indian Lake East, Worcester, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
60 dBA
Average noise across Indian Lake East
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
3,486
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
70% of Indian Lake East residents
86 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Indian Lake East 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 3,486 Indian Lake East residents, or 69.8%, live above that level. By land area, 79.4% of Indian Lake East is above 55 dBA.
20.6% below 55 dBA
79.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Indian Lake East compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Indian Lake East
Average noise levels for Indian Lake East residents, grouped by direction from the center of Indian Lake East. The highest population-weighted average is in eastern Indian Lake East; the lowest is in northwestern Indian Lake East, where just 47% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Eastern Indian Lake East
71.7 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southeastern Indian Lake East
68.8 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southern Indian Lake East
64.5 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern Indian Lake East
62.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northwestern Indian Lake East
58.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in eastern Indian Lake East sounds about 143% louder than in northwestern Indian Lake East, a 12.8 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 I-290 do you need to be?
I-290 produces an estimated 78 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
78 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
47 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 29% of Indian Lake East sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 48% 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 Indian Lake East. 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 Indian Lake East
The bar chart below shows the share of Indian Lake East residents in each noise band. About 18% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 52% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Indian Lake East Compares
Indian Lake East sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Indian Lake East's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Greendale, Salisbury Street, Hadwen Park, and Hamilton.
Average noise level (dBA)
Indian Lake East's 60.1 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 Indian Lake East because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 69.8% of Indian Lake East 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, 79.4% of Indian Lake East'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 Indian Lake East
- 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 I-290 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 Indian Lake East 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.
