Noise Levels in Norwell, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
51 dBA
Average noise across Norwell
Quiet office
1,437
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
15% of Norwell residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Norwell 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 1,437 Norwell residents, or 14.7%, live above that level. By land area, 25.4% of Norwell is above 55 dBA.
74.6% below 55 dBA
25.4% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Norwell compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of Norwell
Average noise levels for Norwell residents, grouped by direction from the center of Norwell. The highest population-weighted average is in southwestern Norwell; the lowest is in northern Norwell, where just 6% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a third of the share in the loudest section.
Southwestern Norwell
61.1 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Norwell
59.5 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Norwell
53.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Central Norwell
48.6 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
Northern Norwell
48.2 dBA · Mostly quiet
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in southwestern Norwell sounds about 145% louder than in northern Norwell, a 12.9 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 State Rte 3 do you need to be?
State Rte 3 produces an estimated 74 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
74 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
44 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 74% of Norwell sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most cities) and roughly 4% 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
General Edward Lawrence Logan International (BOS) sits northwest of Norwell. The U.S. Department of Transportation measures aviation noise around this airport directly, 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 75 dBA on the map's Overall layer. Blocks on the opposite side of Norwell, particularly to the southeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Norwell
The bar chart below shows the share of Norwell residents in each noise band. About 88% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 9% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Norwell Compares
Norwell sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Norwell's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Scituate, Holbrook, Hanson, and Cohasset.
Average noise level (dBA)
Norwell's 51.0 dBA pop-weighted average is at the quieter end of the spectrum. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Norwell because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 14.7% of Norwell 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, 25.4% of Norwell'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 Norwell
- 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 State Rte 3 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 74% of Norwell is under tree cover (much heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is woody wetlands. 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. General Edward Lawrence Logan International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the northwest. Neighborhoods to the southeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
