You’ve probably heard the horror stories. Maybe you’ve even seen it yourself, a quick shadow darting across the subway tracks, an unmistakable scurrying sound in the walls at night. Rodents are becoming more than just an urban legend in America’s largest cities. They’re a growing reality that millions of residents face daily.
The problem isn’t just unpleasant, it’s downright alarming. These creatures can damage your home, spread disease, and make you question whether city living is worth the stress. What’s driving this explosion in rat and mouse populations? Honestly, the answer is more complicated than you might think. From climate change to poor waste management, the perfect storm has been brewing in urban centers across the country. Let’s dive into the five cities battling the worst s and find out what’s really happening beneath the surface.
Los Angeles Takes the Top Spot
Los Angeles dethroned Chicago in 2025 as the nation’s most rat-infested city, with its signature blend of dense commercial corridors and hidden alleyways creating ideal conditions for rodent activity. If you’re living in LA, this probably doesn’t shock you. The sprawling neighborhoods and unpredictable weather have made the city prime real estate for rats too.
Yelp data shows searches for rodent services jumped significantly compared to last year, with experts pointing to density and drought as major culprits, while the city’s tightly packed housing and unpredictable weather create perfect conditions for rodents. Rats and mice venture out of dry hillsides and storm drains hunting for food and water, often finding both in your garage or under your kitchen sink. Let’s be real, the city’s trash problem hasn’t helped either.
Chicago’s Decade of Rodent Dominance
Chicago topped pest control rankings for ten consecutive years, with over 180,000 rat complaints filed since 2020 and a sprawling alley system that continues to fuel infestations. The Windy City’s alleyways aren’t just scenic backdrops, they’re hidden havens where rats feast on trash and multiply at alarming rates.
While rodent complaints to Chicago’s 311 call center spiked in 2021 at almost 66,000, that number has decreased in the last three years, to less than 46,000 in 2024. There’s some good news buried in those numbers, but the fight is far from over. The city allocated nearly fifteen million dollars to rodent control in 2024, showing just how seriously they’re taking this problem.
Still, thousands of residents report seeing rats regularly, and the mental health toll is real. One study found that people reporting daily rat sightings are five times more likely to show signs of depression than others, even accounting for income and race.
New York City and Its Norway Rat Problem
A recent study claims there are now over three million rats in New York City, a roughly fifty percent increase since 2010, prompting the city to appoint its first full-time Rat Czar in 2023. Think about that for a second. Three million rats in one city. That’s nearly one rat for every three people.
New York City follows at third place, with its vast subway system and abundance of food and shelter sources contributing to ongoing pest challenges. The subway is practically a rodent highway, offering warmth, food scraps, and endless places to hide. You’ve probably seen them yourself if you’ve ever waited for a late-night train.
New York City now requires trash placed in secure bins outside, resulting in reduced rat sightings by residents who report cleaner streets, demonstrating that proper waste management is essential to rat management. Small changes can make a difference, though the city’s battle is far from won.
Washington DC’s Alarming Rat Concentration
Washington DC is actually the most rat-infested city in the country when measuring complaints per population, with over 200 rodent complaints for every 10,000 residents. That’s a staggering concentration. You’re more likely to encounter and report a rat in the nation’s capital than anywhere else in America.
Research published in Science Advances revealed significant increasing trends in rat numbers in eleven of sixteen cities studied, with Washington DC experiencing one of the biggest growth rates. The city’s hot weather doesn’t help matters either. Warmer temperatures give rats more time to forage and, more importantly, more time to breed throughout the year.
Last year was DC’s hottest on record, which is bad news for attempts to control rats. Climate change isn’t just an abstract threat anymore, it’s literally feeding the rat population.
San Francisco’s Rapid Rodent Growth
San Francisco has seen its rodent population balloon in recent years, with the city experiencing roughly a ten percent increase in rats over the last twelve years, largely due to rising urban temperatures. A ten percent increase might not sound dramatic, but when you’re talking about millions of rodents, that’s a significant problem.
Some West Coast cities with the most rats include Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, all appearing in major pest control rankings. San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf has become particularly notorious, offering rats a paradise of food and people year round.
While rodents have long been a problem for cold-weather cities of the Northeast, urban areas of California have grown into hotspots as well, with some pointing to the state’s Poison-Free Wildlife Act that banned most rat poisons as a possible factor. It’s hard to say for sure whether the ban made things worse, though the correlation raises questions about how cities should balance environmental concerns with public health.
Conclusion
The rodent crisis gripping America’s major cities isn’t going away anytime soon. From Los Angeles to San Francisco, from Chicago to Washington DC, millions of residents are dealing with an enemy that’s small, fast, and incredibly resilient. Climate change is making matters worse by extending breeding seasons, while aging infrastructure and poor waste management continue to provide rats with everything they need to thrive.
Here’s the thing, though. This isn’t a battle that cities can win alone. You need to do your part by sealing entry points in your home, storing food properly, and managing garbage responsibly. The cities on this list are spending millions on rodent control, but without individual action, those efforts can only go so far. What surprises you most about these rankings? Did your city make the list?
