Noise Levels in West Boylston, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
53 dBA
Average noise across West Boylston
Quiet office to normal conversation
1,752
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
25% of West Boylston residents
82 dBA
Loudest residential point
Food blender at arm’s length
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across West Boylston 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 1,752 West Boylston residents, or 25.0%, live above that level. By land area, 35.7% of West Boylston is above 55 dBA.
64.3% below 55 dBA
35.7% above 55 dBA
See how noise in West Boylston compares to similar-sized cities.
Noise by Part of West Boylston
Average noise levels for West Boylston residents, grouped by direction from the center of West Boylston. The highest population-weighted average is in central West Boylston; the lowest is in southeastern West Boylston, where just 7% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, a fifth of the share in the loudest section.
Central West Boylston
64.8 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Southwestern West Boylston
64.3 dBA · Loud
Busy restaurant
Northern West Boylston
58.8 dBA · Loud
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
Northeastern West Boylston
51.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southeastern West Boylston
51.1 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
To the human ear, noise in central West Boylston sounds about 158% louder than in southeastern West Boylston, a 13.7 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-190 do you need to be?
I-190 produces an estimated 75 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
75 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
61 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
330 ft
53 dBA
Quiet office to normal conversation
660 ft
45 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
¼ mile
37 dBA
Soft rainfall
½ mile
35 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 54% of West Boylston sits under tree canopy (heavier than most cities) and roughly 15% 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 West Boylston. 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.
How Noise Is Distributed Across West Boylston
The bar chart below shows the share of West Boylston residents in each noise band. About 71% 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 West Boylston Compares
West Boylston sits at the louder end of the spectrum. Below: how West Boylston's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Sterling, North Grafton, Rutland, and Grafton.
Average noise level (dBA)
West Boylston's 53.1 dBA pop-weighted average is at the louder end of the spectrum. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than West Boylston because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 25.0% of West Boylston 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, 35.7% of West Boylston'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 West Boylston
- 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-190 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 54% of West Boylston is under tree cover (heavier than most cities), and the dominant land cover is low-density developed open space. 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.
