Noise Levels in Silver Lake, Providence, RI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
54 dBA
Average noise across Silver Lake
Quiet office to normal conversation
4,802
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
48% of Silver Lake residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Silver Lake 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 4,802 Silver Lake residents, or 47.5%, live above that level. By land area, 45.5% of Silver Lake is above 55 dBA.
54.5% below 55 dBA
45.5% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Silver Lake compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Silver Lake
Average noise levels for Silver Lake residents, grouped by direction from the center of Silver Lake. The highest population-weighted average is in northeastern Silver Lake; the lowest is in northwestern Silver Lake, where just 28% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, about half the share in the loudest section.
Northeastern Silver Lake
68.8 dBA · Loud
Highway traffic 50 ft away
Eastern Silver Lake
57.9 dBA · Moderate-loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Southeastern Silver Lake
54.8 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Silver Lake
53.7 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Silver Lake
53.5 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in northeastern Silver Lake sounds about 189% louder than in northwestern Silver Lake, a 15.3 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 Ri-14 E do you need to be?
Ri-14 E produces an estimated 55 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
55 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
165 ft
42 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 14% of Silver Lake sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 64% 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 Silver Lake. 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 Silver Lake. 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 Silver Lake, 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 Silver Lake
The bar chart below shows the share of Silver Lake residents in each noise band. About 58% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 5% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Silver Lake Compares
Silver Lake sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Silver Lake's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Elmhurst, Wanskuck, Elmwood, and Darlington.
Average noise level (dBA)
Silver Lake's 54.1 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 Silver Lake because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 47.5% of Silver Lake 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, 45.5% of Silver Lake'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 Silver Lake
- 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 Ri-14 E 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 14% of Silver Lake is under tree cover (about average for 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.
