Noise Levels in North End Manchester, Manchester, NH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across North End Manchester
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,166
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
40% of North End Manchester residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across North End Manchester 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 2,166 North End Manchester residents, or 40.5%, live above that level. By land area, 43.7% of North End Manchester is above 55 dBA.
56.3% below 55 dBA
43.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in North End Manchester compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of North End Manchester
Average noise levels for North End Manchester residents, grouped by direction from the center of North End Manchester. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern North End Manchester; the lowest is in southeastern North End Manchester, where just 14% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern North End Manchester
60.9 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northern North End Manchester
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Western North End Manchester
60.2 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southern North End Manchester
57.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern North End Manchester
52.6 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in southwestern North End Manchester sounds about 78% louder than in southeastern North End Manchester, a 8.3 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 River Rd do you need to be?
River Rd produces an estimated 58 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
58 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
165 ft
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
330 ft
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
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 36% of North End Manchester sits under tree canopy (much 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.
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Airport Noise
Manchester Boston Regional (MHT) sits south of North End Manchester. 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 North End Manchester, 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 North End Manchester
The bar chart below shows the share of North End Manchester residents in each noise band. About 56% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 26% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How North End Manchester Compares
North End Manchester sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how North End Manchester's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Wellington, Straw-Smyth, Rimmon Heights, and Somerville.
Average noise level (dBA)
North End Manchester's 56.9 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. New Hampshire as a whole averages 48.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than North End Manchester because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 40.5% of North End Manchester residents live in blocks where outdoor levels exceed the EPA's 55 dBA threshold. That's fewer than any of its peer group. Measured by land area instead, 43.7% of North End Manchester's footprint sits above 55 dBA, against a New Hampshire average of 18.7% and a national average of 28.1%.
What This Means if You're Moving to North End Manchester
- 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 River Rd 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 36% of North End Manchester is under tree cover (much 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. Manchester Boston Regional's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the south. Neighborhoods to the north of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
