Washington, D.C. Tops U.S. Rodent Complaints Per Resident

Washington, D.C. logged the most rodent complaints per resident among 12 U.S. cities in a new index from RodentExterminator.com, far above New York City and the rest of the field. The data, based on local 311 reports filed in 2025, suggests complaint volume varies sharply by city, reporting habits and season.

Why it matters: - Washington, D.C. had 240.5 rodent reports for every 10,000 residents in 2025, the highest rate in the index. - Chicago ranked second at 157.7 per 10,000 residents, and Baltimore ranked third at 104.0. - Kansas City, Mo., had the lowest rate at 9.1 per 10,000 residents, putting Washington, D.C. about 26 times higher. - The index compares complaint pressure across cities, not just total report counts.

What happened: - RodentExterminator.com released the US Rodent Index on Oct. 16, 2026. - The index covers 12 cities and 106,831 rodent reports filed in 2025 through local 311 systems. - New York City ranked seventh by rate, with 36.5 rodent reports per 10,000 residents. - New York filed 31,312 rodent reports in 2025, the second-highest total in the index after Chicago. - New York's total fell 21.2% from 39,726 in 2024. - New Orleans saw the largest year-over-year increase mentioned in the release, with reports rising 48.6% from 288 in 2024 to 428 in 2025.

The details: - Boston ranked fourth with 77.6 reports per 10,000 residents. - Somerville, Mass., ranked fifth with 73.0. - Cambridge, Mass., ranked sixth with 38.6. - Detroit ranked eighth with 27.4. - Cincinnati ranked ninth with 17.4. - Norfolk, Va., ranked 10th with 12.1. - New Orleans ranked 11th with 11.8. - Chicago's busiest month was July 2025, when residents filed 5,828 rodent reports. - The full index, charts and city pages are available at the full index. - Each city has its own page with monthly counts and year-over-year changes.

Between the lines: - The index counts reports, not rodents, so a higher rate can reflect more pests, easier reporting or quicker resident response. - Cities define rodent complaints differently, which limits strict comparisons across jurisdictions. - The data is most useful for tracking trends within a city and spotting broad differences between cities. - A RodentExterminator.com spokesperson said people usually call 311 when they see rats in an alley or droppings in a kitchen, and said the index lets people compare cities and seasonal changes.

What's next: - The release says the index will continue to show monthly counts and year-over-year changes on each city page. - Reporters and researchers may use the data and charts with credit to RodentExterminator.com. - The methodology page is available at the full method. - Media resources are available at media resources. - The underlying reports come from public 311 records for complete years 2023 through 2025, checked through Aug. 31, 2026. - Population figures come from US Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates.