Chicago is the country's rattiest city for a ninth straight year

Chicago may be the best big city in the United States, but it’s also the rattiest.

Pest control company Orkin has revealed its annual rankings of the most rat-infested cities in the country, and Chicago tops the list for a ninth year in a row. Los Angeles reclaimed the No. 2 spot while New York fell to No. 3. Washington, D.C. and San Francisco round out the top five.

The rankings were based on the number of new rodent treatments performed on both residential and commercial buildings between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023. Orkin estimates that rats and mice invade 21 million homes in the U.S. each fall looking for food, water and shelter from the cold. 

“Rats are capable of squeezing into spaces through holes as small as a quarter, which makes it especially important to seal cracks from the outside,” said Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist, in a news release.

To commemorate Chicago’s infamous title, Orkin also released a limited-edition t-shirt with a design specifically made for the Windy City. Keep reading to see the Top 50 Rattiest Cities List for 2023.

What are the most rat-infested cities in the United States?

1. Chicago, IL
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. New York, NY
4. Washington, D.C.
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Philadelphia, PA
7. Baltimore, MD
8. Denver, CO
9. Detroit, MI
10. Cleveland-Akron, OH
11. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
12. Seattle, WA
13. Boston, MA
14. Atlanta, GA
15. Indianapolis, IN
16. Pittsburgh, PA
17. Hartford, CT
18. Columbus, OH
19. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL
20. Houston, TX
21. Charlotte, NC
22. Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
23. Raleigh-Durham, NC
24. Milwaukee, WI
25. Grand Rapids, MI
26. Portland, OR
27. Norfolk-Portsmouth, VA
28. San Diego, CA
29. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
30. New Orleans, LA
31. Cincinnati, OH
32. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
33. Sacramento, CA
34. Kansas City, MO
35. Nashville, TN
36. Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL
37. Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL
38. Buffalo, NY
39. St. Louis, MO
40. Phoenix, AZ
41. Champaign, IL
42. Albany-Troy, NY
43. Flint, MI
44. Burlington, VT-Plattsburgh, NY
45. Albuquerque, NM
46. Rochester, NY
47. South Bend, IN
48. Syracuse, NY
49. Charleston-Huntington, WV
50. Greensboro, NC