New York City Ranks High on List of America's Most Rat-Infested Cities, but Avoids Top Spot

Tracey Harrington McCoy
·2 min read
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A rodent is seen eating seeds in New York, NY, United States
A rodent is seen eating seeds in New York, NY, United States

File: Getty rat

New York City can breathe a big collective sigh of relief: they're not America's rattiest city.

For the eighth consecutive year in a row, Chicago topped Orkin's list of America's most rodent-infested cities. The pest control company releases an annual list of cities with the most rats.

Orkin determines its ranking of metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed during the year and includes both residential and commercial treatments.

RELATED: Hero Rats Project Training Rodents to Wear Tiny Backpacks and Help with Earthquake Rescues

The top 10 list over the past several years has remained mostly stable, with some cities moving up or down one or two spots.

In order, the top 10 most rodent-infested cities in the U.S. are: Chicago; New York; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Cleveland; Detroit; and Denver.

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There has been some movement on the list since last year. Most notable? New York beat out Los Angeles for the No. 2 ranking, and entering the top 20 this year is Hartford, Connecticut (taking the No. 19 spot), and Miami (rising three spots to secure the No. 20 spot).

South Bend, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Orlando, Florida, were new additions to the list since 2021.

Rats aren't always a nuisance, though.

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The Hero Rats Project trains rodents to help with earthquake rescue. They train rats to wear backpacks that can be equipped with location trackers and microphones, so the animals can help human rescuers locate survivors stuck in earthquake debris.

The innovative project is being worked on by research scientist Dr. Donna Kean, 33, from Glasgow, Scotland.

Dr. Kean was initially interested in primate behavior. But she became fascinated by how quickly rats can learn and said it is a misconception that they are unhygienic. She described them as "sociable" creatures.

"We hope it will save lives, the results are really promising," Dr. Kean said of her work.