Rats

Are the rats winning? NYC still the third ‘rattiest' city in US, ranking shows

NBC Universal, Inc.

Smells like progress?

Turns out, the rats do kind of run this city still.

Pest control company Orkin released its annual ranking of the "rattiest" cities in the U.S. this week, and New York City held steady as third highest on the list that no city wants to be on — despite all of Mayor Eric Adams' efforts to address the rat problem.

The city had the exact same ranking in 2023, so at least the situation has not gotten worse. And it's not as bad as the rat issue in Chicago, apparently, which made it 10 years in a row of landing the unenviable top spot. Orkin has ranked Chicago first on its list every year since 2015.

Also beating out the five boroughs was Los Angeles, but let's hope that's the only thing NYC falls to the City of Angels in this month. Los Angeles was ranked #2 for the second year in a row, according to Orkin.

Though rats are not just an NYC problem — they're a NY problem. From the 50 cities ranked by Orkin, New York was the most-represented state, with five cities making the list: NYC, Albany (31), Buffalo (41), Rochester (43) and Syracuse (48).

Albany's rodent problem appears to have worsened in the past year, up from 42nd just last year. Rochester was a new addition to the list, after not having been ranked last year. Buffalo improved at least a little, after it was ranked 38th last year. Syracuse had the same ranking in 2023.

Orkin ranked metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024. This ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.

Melissa Colorado reporting on Mayor Adams hosting the inaugural national urban rat summit. 

“Rodents can cause a lot of structural problems for property owners,” says John Kane, Orkin National Accounts Entomologist & Quality Manager. “They can get in around piping and even chew through walls. These tiny culprits tend to chew through wiring, which poses an increased risk of fires.”

The city's mayor has made rat mitigation a key priority of his administration. Mayor Adams has announced a number of trash initiatives he says will keep the rodents at bay.

New York lawmakers are proposing rules to humanely drive down the population of rats and other rodents. They are eyeing rat birth control and a ban on glue traps as alternatives to poison or a slow, brutal death. A new rule recently went into effect requiring all businesses to use lidded trash bins or face fines. And the city's Parks Department expanded their pizza-specific trash cans to six more locations in September.

1. CHICAGO
2. LOS ANGELES
3. NEW YORK
4. SAN FRANCISCO
5. WASHINGTON, D.C.
6. DENVER
7. PHILADELPHIA
8. DETROIT
9. BALTIMORE
10. CLEVELAND
11. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
12. BOSTON
13. HARTFORD
14. SEATTLE
15. INDIANAPOLIS
16. ATLANTA
17. COLUMBUS, OHIO
18. SAN DIEGO
19. MILWAUKEE
20. SACRAMENTO
21. PITTSBURGH
22. DALLAS-FT. WORTH
23. MIAMI
24. NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
25. HOUSTON





26. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
27. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
28. RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
29. HONOLULU
30. ALBUQUERQUE
31. ALBANY
32. PHOENIX
33. GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
34. CINCINNATI
35. TAMPA
36. NASHVILLE
37. RICHMOND
38. PORTLAND
39. ORLANDO
40. NEW ORLEANS
41. BUFFALO
42. FLINT
43. ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
44. CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS
45. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
46. BURLINGTON, VERMONT
47. OKLAHOMA CITY
48. SYRACUSE
49. CHARLESTON-HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA (-2)
50. GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

Exit mobile version