Noise Levels in Rimmon Heights, Manchester, NH | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
55 dBA
Average noise across Rimmon Heights
Quiet office to normal conversation
2,488
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
53% of Rimmon Heights residents
79 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Rimmon Heights 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 2,488 Rimmon Heights residents, or 52.7%, live above that level. By land area, 68.2% of Rimmon Heights is above 55 dBA.
31.8% below 55 dBA
68.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Rimmon Heights compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Rimmon Heights
Average noise levels for Rimmon Heights residents, grouped by direction from the center of Rimmon Heights. The highest population-weighted average is in northwestern Rimmon Heights; the lowest is in southern Rimmon Heights, where just 18% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about two-thirds of the share in the loudest section.
Northwestern Rimmon Heights
62.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northeastern Rimmon Heights
61.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Rimmon Heights
57.6 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southwestern Rimmon Heights
53.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southern Rimmon Heights
51.8 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northwestern Rimmon Heights sounds about 116% louder than in southern Rimmon Heights, a 11.1 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-293 do you need to be?
I-293 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 22% of Rimmon Heights sits under tree canopy (heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 57% 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 southeast of Rimmon Heights. 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 Rimmon Heights, particularly to the northwest, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Rimmon Heights
The bar chart below shows the share of Rimmon Heights residents in each noise band. About 43% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 12% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Rimmon Heights Compares
Rimmon Heights sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Rimmon Heights's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Somerville, Straw-Smyth, North End Manchester, and Wellington.
Average noise level (dBA)
Rimmon Heights's 55.1 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. New Hampshire as a whole averages 48.7 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Rimmon Heights because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 52.7% of Rimmon Heights 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, 68.2% of Rimmon Heights'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 Rimmon Heights
- 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-293 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 22% of Rimmon Heights 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. Manchester Boston Regional's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the southeast. Neighborhoods to the northwest of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
