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Work Context Index

The quietest jobs, by measured noise exposure

O*NET asks people in every occupation "How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?" and publishes the mean answer on a 1-to-5 scale. This page lists the 25 occupations whose mean sits lowest, with the BLS wage, education and outlook for each.

Which jobs have the least exposure to distracting or uncomfortable noise?

Across the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates, the 25 lowest for Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable average between 1.07 and 1.58 on O*NET's 1-to-5 scale, where 1 means "Never" and 5 means "Every day"; the median across all occupations is 3.0. Lowest are Software Developers (1.07), Family Medicine Physicians (1.21), Chiropractors (1.21). Their median BLS wage is $83,050 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 8 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.

Occupations compared
894 O*NET 30.3 occupations with published Work Context ratings
What O*NET asks incumbents
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable: "How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?"
Scale
1 = Never; 3 = Once a month or more but not every week; 5 = Every day. Values are mean incumbent ratings.
Wage and outlook source
BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (Employment in thousands). 9 of the 25 occupations listed have a dedicated RoleSprint page.

Source and method

O*NET 30.3 Database (Work Context), U.S. Department of Labor, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-05. Ratings are reproduced from O*NET as published mean incumbent responses on each question's own 1-to-5 scale. Percentile ranks, composite averages and the resulting order are RoleSprint's computation and are described on the methodology page. Wage, education and outlook fields are reproduced from BLS for the matching SOC code and left blank where BLS publishes no line item.

What this page does and does not claim

People search this as “quiet jobs”. This page answers that with the measurement behind it: Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable, rated on a fixed 1-to-5 scale by people who do each job.

It does not say which jobs suit a personality, a temperament or a health condition. It reports a measured condition of the work and lets you decide whether that condition is the one you meant.

The 25 occupations

Ordered by mean rating for Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable, lowest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.

#OccupationO*NET valueRankBLS wage and education
1

Software Developers

O*NET-SOC 15-1252.00

1.07 of 5

Never

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$135,980 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +10.2% 2025-35

2

Family Medicine Physicians

O*NET-SOC 29-1215.00

1.21 of 5

Never

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$244,180 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +3.3% 2025-35

3

Chiropractors

O*NET-SOC 29-1011.00

1.21 of 5

Never

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$79,200 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +8.7% 2025-35

4

Ophthalmic Medical Technicians

O*NET-SOC 29-2057.00

1.23 of 5

Never

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$45,570 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +21.4% 2025-35

5

Manicurists and Pedicurists

O*NET-SOC 39-5092.00

1.28 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$35,760 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +9.2% 2025-35

6

Personal Financial Advisors

O*NET-SOC 13-2052.00

1.31 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$105,070 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +1.4% 2025-35

7

Food Preparation Workers

O*NET-SOC 35-2021.00

1.36 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$35,320 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · -3% 2025-35

8

Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric

O*NET-SOC 29-1241.00

1.39 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$300,080 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +4.5% 2025-35

9

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

O*NET-SOC 21-2021.00

1.40 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$52,100 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.3% 2025-35

10

Regulatory Affairs Managers

O*NET-SOC 11-9199.01

1.43 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$141,900 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +4.9% 2025-35

11

Fundraising Managers

O*NET-SOC 11-2033.00

1.44 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$125,470 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +5.4% 2025-35

12

Computer User Support Specialists

O*NET-SOC 15-1232.00

1.45 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$61,860 median (2025)

Some college, no degree · -3.5% 2025-35

13

Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers

O*NET-SOC 27-3043.05

1.45 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$76,910 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · -0.3% 2025-35

14

Obstetricians and Gynecologists

O*NET-SOC 29-1218.00

1.45 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 99%

of 894 occupations

$292,910 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +1.7% 2025-35

15

Skincare Specialists

O*NET-SOC 39-5094.00

1.48 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$45,330 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +8.8% 2025-35

16

Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary

O*NET-SOC 25-1126.00

1.48 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$80,260 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +2% 2025-35

17

Business Intelligence Analysts

O*NET-SOC 15-2051.01

1.50 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$120,230 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +34.6% 2025-35

18

Naturopathic Physicians

O*NET-SOC 29-1299.01

1.50 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$115,210 median (2025)

Master's degree · +5.5% 2025-35

19

Optometrists

O*NET-SOC 29-1041.00

1.52 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$136,570 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +9.5% 2025-35

20

Astronomers

O*NET-SOC 19-2011.00

1.52 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$128,820 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +7.8% 2025-35

21

Shampooers

O*NET-SOC 39-5093.00

1.54 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$32,600 median (2025)

No formal educational credential · +5.6% 2025-35

22

Audiologists

O*NET-SOC 29-1181.00

1.55 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 98%

of 894 occupations

$95,780 median (2025)

Doctoral or professional degree · +11% 2025-35

23

Business Continuity Planners

O*NET-SOC 13-1199.04

1.57 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$83,050 median (2025)

Bachelor's degree · +3.9% 2025-35

24

Funeral Attendants

O*NET-SOC 39-4021.00

1.57 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$35,680 median (2025)

High school diploma or equivalent · +2.6% 2025-35

25

Massage Therapists

O*NET-SOC 31-9011.00

1.58 of 5

between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month"

Lower than 97%

of 894 occupations

$58,450 median (2025)

Postsecondary nondegree award · +15.3% 2025-35

Values are mean ratings from O*NET 30.3; most come from surveys of people in the occupation, some from occupational experts, and some for newer occupations from O*NET analysts. Wage, education and outlook are from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code and are blank where BLS publishes no line item.

How this was measured

Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable (O*NET element 4.C.2.b.1.a). The question put to incumbents: “How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?”

  1. 1

    Never

  2. 2

    Once a year or more but not every month

  3. 3

    Once a month or more but not every week

  4. 4

    Once a week or more but not every day

  5. 5

    Every day

894 of 894 occupations have a published, unsuppressed value for this element. The percentile beside each occupation is its position among them.

The full method, including how ties are broken and what the data cannot tell you, is on the methodology page.

Narrow the list with BLS data

Each variant keeps the same measure and restricts the occupations by a published BLS threshold. A variant exists only where the restriction actually changes the list rather than the heading; the combinations that left the answer much as it was were not published.

Combine this with other conditions

The explorer ranks all occupations on any set of measures you choose, with the same values and the same arithmetic as this page.

Open the explorer with this selection

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. RoleSprint has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Wage, education and outlook figures are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What to do next

These rankings describe occupations in general. The next question is whether a specific opening in one of them actually matches what you can show, and that is answered by comparing the posting with your resume.

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