Noise Levels in Mount Hope, Providence, RI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
56 dBA
Average noise across Mount Hope
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,995
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
66% of Mount Hope residents
81 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Mount Hope 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 2,995 Mount Hope residents, or 65.7%, live above that level. By land area, 71.1% of Mount Hope is above 55 dBA.
28.9% below 55 dBA
71.1% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Mount Hope compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Mount Hope
Average noise levels for Mount Hope residents, grouped by direction from the center of Mount Hope. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Mount Hope; the lowest is in northeastern Mount Hope, where just 55% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Mount Hope
67.7 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Southern Mount Hope
56.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Central Mount Hope
56.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern Mount Hope
55.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Mount Hope sounds about 130% louder than in northeastern Mount Hope, a 12.0 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 I-95 N do you need to be?
I-95 N 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
39 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 25% of Mount Hope sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 51% 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 Mount Hope. 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 south of Mount Hope. 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 55 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Mount Hope, 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 Mount Hope
The bar chart below shows the share of Mount Hope residents in each noise band. About 35% 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 Mount Hope Compares
Mount Hope sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Mount Hope's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Olneyville, Fairlawn, Six Corners, and Smith Hill.
Average noise level (dBA)
Mount Hope's 55.8 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Rhode Island as a whole averages 53.0 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Mount Hope because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 65.7% of Mount Hope residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's in the middle of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 71.1% of Mount Hope'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 Mount Hope
- 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-95 N 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 25% of Mount Hope 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. Rhode Island Tf Green International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
