Noise Levels in Six Corners, East Providence, RI | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
57 dBA
Average noise across Six Corners
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
2,680
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
56% of Six Corners residents
80 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Six Corners 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 2,680 Six Corners residents, or 56.0%, live above that level. By land area, 60.2% of Six Corners is above 55 dBA.
39.8% below 55 dBA
60.2% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Six Corners compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Six Corners
Average noise levels for Six Corners residents, grouped by direction from the center of Six Corners. The highest population-weighted average is in western Six Corners; the lowest is in northwestern Six Corners, where just 55% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Western Six Corners
65.4 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southeastern Six Corners
63.9 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Central Six Corners
60.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northwestern Six Corners
58.1 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
To the human ear, noise in western Six Corners sounds about 66% louder than in northwestern Six Corners, a 7.3 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 do you need to be?
produces an estimated 80 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 quiet suburban street at night.
At source
80 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
67 dBA
Highway traffic 50 ft away
330 ft
60 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
¼ mile
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
38 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 16% of Six Corners sits under tree canopy (about average for neighborhoods) and roughly 61% 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
Rhode Island Tf Green International (PVD) sits southwest of Six Corners. 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 Six Corners, particularly to the northeast, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Six Corners
The bar chart below shows the share of Six Corners residents in each noise band. About 47% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 16% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Six Corners Compares
Six Corners sits at the quieter end of the spectrum. Below: how Six Corners's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Mount Hope, Federal Hill, Ingrams Corner, and Lower South Providence.
Average noise level (dBA)
Six Corners's 56.8 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 Six Corners because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 56.0% of Six Corners 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, 60.2% of Six Corners'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 Six Corners
- 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 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 16% of Six Corners 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 southwest. Neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
