Noise Levels in Whittenton, Taunton, MA | Find Quiet Neighborhoods With Our Sound Map
52 dBA
Average noise across Whittenton
Quiet office to normal conversation
3,314
Residents above the EPA 55 dBA threshold
26% of Whittenton residents
76 dBA
Loudest residential point
City bus interior
This map shows modeled outdoor noise across Whittenton 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 3,314 Whittenton residents, or 26.5%, live above that level. By land area, 30.0% of Whittenton is above 55 dBA.
70.0% below 55 dBA
30.0% above 55 dBA
See how noise in Whittenton compares to similar-sized neighborhoods.
Noise by Part of Whittenton
Average noise levels for Whittenton residents, grouped by direction from the center of Whittenton. The highest population-weighted average is in northern Whittenton; the lowest is in southwestern Whittenton, where just 13% of residents live in blocks above the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, roughly the same as the share in the loudest section.
Northern Whittenton
55.2 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Eastern Whittenton
54.4 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Northwestern Whittenton
53.3 dBA · Moderate-loud
Quiet office to normal conversation
Western Whittenton
51.5 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office to normal conversation
Southwestern Whittenton
50.9 dBA · Moderate
Quiet office
To the human ear, noise in northern Whittenton sounds about 35% louder than in southwestern Whittenton, a 4.3 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 76 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
76 dBA
City bus interior
165 ft
64 dBA
Busy restaurant
330 ft
57 dBA
Normal conversation an arm’s length away
660 ft
50 dBA
Quiet office
¼ mile
43 dBA
Quiet suburban street at night
½ mile
36 dBA
Soft rainfall
Calculated from the model's calibrated attenuation formula. About 41% of Whittenton sits under tree canopy (much heavier than most neighborhoods) and roughly 26% 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 Whittenton. 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
General Edward Lawrence Logan International (BOS) sits north of Whittenton. 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 Whittenton, particularly to the south, show no measurable aviation contribution. Use the Aviation toggle on the map above to isolate the airport's footprint.
How Noise Is Distributed Across Whittenton
The bar chart below shows the share of Whittenton residents in each noise band. About 76% of residents live below the EPA's 55 dBA threshold, and roughly 2% live in blocks above 60 dBA. Long-term exposure in that range is linked to elevated stress hormones and cardiovascular risk.
How Whittenton Compares
Whittenton sits the lowest among the peer group. Below: how Whittenton's average outdoor noise and share of residents above the EPA threshold compare with Maplewood, Sandy Beach, North Plymouth, and North End.
Average noise level (dBA)
Whittenton's 52.3 dBA pop-weighted average is the lowest among the peer group. Massachusetts as a whole averages 54.3 dBA and the U.S. averages 52.0 dBA. Both are lower than Whittenton because most of either area is rural land away from major roads.
Share of residents above 55 dBA
About 26.5% of Whittenton 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, 30.0% of Whittenton'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 Whittenton
- 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 41% of Whittenton is under tree cover (much heavier than most neighborhoods), 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.
- Airport noise is directional. General Edward Lawrence Logan International's approach paths concentrate aviation noise to the north. Neighborhoods to the south of downtown show no measurable contribution from the airport.
