{"id":18745,"date":"2024-10-08T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/research\/?p=18745"},"modified":"2024-10-07T16:24:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T20:24:35","slug":"rat-report-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/research\/rat-report-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"RentHop Rat Report 2024: Rat Populations Decrease After Post-Covid Peak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cities across the United States combat rat infestations on a daily basis, with residents often running into the rodents on sidewalks, in parks, and, in extreme cases, inside their homes. Rats are not only a discomforting nuisance, but they can carry disease and damage property. City officials roll out new legislature and initiatives to help decrease the rat population in their respective cities, but rats continue to affect residents year after year. RentHop’s Rat Report of 2024 analyzes rodent complaint trends across the country \u2013 is your city rodent-infested?<\/span><\/p>\n

RentHop Rat Report 2024<\/h2>\n

RentHop collects data from four major U.S. cities to help renters and homeowners understand the levels of rodent activity in their area, helping them decide where to live. This year, we analyzed 311 rodent complaints in <\/span>Boston<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Chicago<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>New York City<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/a> The study analyzes data from 2015 through the end of September 2024 to answer the question: are rats running rampant in my neighborhood? It\u2019s been two years since our <\/span>last rat report<\/span><\/a>, but the rats didn\u2019t dissipate in our absence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rat complaints peaked in the four major cities between 2021 and 2022 during the post-pandemic rat explosion period. Since then, while rat complaints have slightly decreased, they remain high in all four cities. Complaints have increased in Boston so far, and the complaints could potentially increase in Washington D.C. this year. Complaints remain high in Chicago and New York City, but there are lower monthly sightings than throughout 2023, suggesting that the population will decrease by the end of this year.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Rodent Complaints by City<\/h3>\n

Figure 1<\/a> below highlights the total number of 311 rat complaints between 2015 and 2024 in Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C. Year after year, Chicago has the largest number of rodent complaints of all the cities<\/b> and has collected 36,134 complaints so far this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chicago far outpaces the other four cities, but New York City comes in second with 23,460 rat complaints, followed by Washington D.C. with 13,367 rat complaints, then Boston with 3,936 rat complaints. <\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>Figure 1<\/div>\n

Figure 2<\/a> highlights the normalized number of rat complaints per city, measuring the complaints per 10,000 residents. Normalizing the data by population count allows us to fairly measure the rodent crisis in each city, as the size and density of the city could have a major impact on the number of complaints received. Once normalized, we found that, in fact, Washington D.C. is the most rat-infested city in the country<\/b>, where there are 200.85 rodent complaints for every 10k residents. Residents in the city are more likely to encounter and report a rat than in the other rat-infested cities. Last year, the city surpassed all previous records for the concentration of rodent complaints (262.60 complaints\/10k residents), and it could break the record yet again this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chicago had the highest concentration of rat complaints in 2021 but has since fallen into second place. This year, the city has received 135.62 complaints per 10k residents. Boston falls next, with 60.74 complaints per 10k residents, followed by New York City. New York City has the lowest concentration of rat complaints, with only 28.41 complaints per 10k residents.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Figure 2<\/div>\n

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Select one of the cities below to learn more:<\/p>\n

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Boston<\/a> | Chicago<\/a> | New York City<\/a> | Washington D.C.<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Boston: Consistent Rodent Population Sparks Outrage<\/h2>\n

Rats are on the rise in Boston this year, with 311 complaints increasing across most neighborhoods. Compared to the other rat-infested cities, Boston has the third-highest concentration of rat complaints per 10,000 residents.<\/p>\n

So far this year, the city has surpassed the number of rodent complaints from 2023. With another quarter remaining in the year, the city will likely surpass its record from 2022, resulting in the highest number of rodent complaints in the past decade<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Figure 3<\/div>\n

After New York City appointed its first Rat Czar in 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to formalize a similar position for her city. The development could decrease rat complaints across the city and help curb the growing population.<\/p>\n

Do Rodents Dominate Your Neighborhood?<\/h3>\n

With rats on the rise across the city, it\u2019s important to note which areas have the highest concentration of 311 rodent complaints. Similar to most years, the city\u2019s rat population lives at the center of the city, where the streets get narrower, and the trash piles up. One of the city\u2019s largest challenges remains its aging infrastructure, with an old sewage system that makes an ideal breeding ground for rodents.<\/p>\n

The interactive map below indicates the concentration of 311 rat\/rodent sighting complaints in Boston. Neighborhoods in darker shades have a higher concentration of complaints in 2024. Larger neighborhoods may receive more complaints than smaller neighborhoods, so we normalized the number of rodent complaints by population (10,000 residents). You can click on the polygons to learn more about each neighborhood.<\/p>\n