Noise Levels in Memorial Square, Springfield, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
63 dBA
Average noise across Memorial Square
Busy restaurant
3,401
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
88% of Memorial Square residents
90 dBA
Loudest residential point
Lawnmower at 1 m
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Memorial Square 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 3,401 Memorial Square residents, or 87.7%, live above that level. By land area, 90.9% of Memorial Square is above 55 dBA.
9.1% below 55 dBA
90.9% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Memorial Square compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Memorial Square
Average noise levels for Memorial Square residents, grouped by direction from the center of Memorial Square. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Memorial Square; the lowest is in central Memorial Square, where just 86% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Memorial Square
74.3 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southern Memorial Square
74.3 dBA · Loud
City bus interior
Southeastern Memorial Square
70.2 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Central Memorial Square
66.1 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Memorial Square sounds about 77% louder than in central Memorial Square, a 8.2 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 I-91 do you need to be?
I-91 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
56 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
48 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
40 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 31% of Memorial Square sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 49% 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 Memorial Square. 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
Bradley International (BDL) sits south of Memorial Square. 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 45 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Memorial Square, particularly to the north, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Memorial Square
The bar chart below shows the share of Memorial Square residents in each noise band. About 8% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 67% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Memorial Square Compares
Memorial Square sits the highest among the peer group. Below: how Memorial Square's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Old Hill, Maple High-Six Corners, Bay, and Brightwood.
Average noise level (dBA)
Memorial Square's 62.9 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 Memorial Square because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 87.7% of Memorial Square 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, 90.9% of Memorial Square'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 Memorial Square
- 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-91 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 31% of Memorial Square 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. Bradley International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
