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DENVER, CO (KDVR/NEXSTAR) – While major cities are home to bustling populations filled with hundreds of thousands of residents, an often overlooked and hidden populace throngs beneath the surface: rats.
Depending on your geographical location, the ground beneath your feet might be alive with millions of these nocturnal creatures. Pest control experts struggle to nail down an exact global rat population but suggest an intriguing estimate of one to two rats for every person on Earth.
Considering the current human population stands at approximately 8.2 billion, this translates to an estimated 8.2 billion rats if we assume a one-to-one ratio. However, if the more liberal two-to-one estimate holds true, that number could skyrocket to an astounding 16.4 billion rats.
In a cityscape teeming with life, the presence of such an unseen multitude of rats adds another layer of complexity to urban living. As researchers continue to study these resilient rodents, their elusive nature continues to capture public intrigue, as demonstrated by headlines such as “Ah, rats! ‘Chicago Rat Hole’ is not imprint of rat, study suggests.”
There’s an old saying that you are never more than six feet away from a rat, and that’s especially true if you live in some of the biggest cities in the country.
This is because rats love to live off the waste left by humans. So where you find a lot of humans, you’ll find a lot of rats.
Pest control company Orkin released its annual rankings for the “rattiest” cities in the United States.
To find this, Orkin tracks all of the rodent services requested by owner-occupied residences over the past year, which offers a snapshot of the cities with the highest levels of reported rodent activity.
Historically, Chicago has occupied the No.1 spot every year that Orkin has released its annual rankings, which it has been reporting for over a decade.
But this year, there is a new city being crowned the “rattiest” Los Angeles.
Orkin cites that growing warm climates can help a rat’s survivability rate, so hotter cities are seeing themselves fly up the rankings, giving Los Angeles the slight edge over Chicago this year.
Chicago falls to No. 2 in the rankings, followed by New York and San Francisco.
Rounding out the top five is Hartford, CT, which wasn’t even listed in the top 10 in last year’s rankings
Here’s Orkin’s full list of the top 25 “rattiest” cities in the U.S.
| Rank | City | Number of spots moved since 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Los Angeles | +1 |
| 2. | Chicago | -1 |
| 3. | New York | 0 |
| 4. | San Francisco | 0 |
| 5. | Hartford | +8 |
| 6. | Washington, D.C. | -1 |
| 7. | Detroit | +1 |
| 8. | Philadelphia | -1 |
| 9. | Minneapolis | +2 |
| 10. | Denver | -4 |
| 11. | Cleveland | -1 |
| 12. | Baltimore | -3 |
| 13. | Boston | -1 |
| 14. | Indianapolis | +1 |
| 15. | Dallas | +7 |
| 16. | Milwaukee | +3 |
| 17. | Seattle | -3 |
| 18. | Atlanta | -2 |
| 19. | Sacramento | +1 |
| 20. | Pittsburgh | +1 |
| 21. | Columbus | -4 |
| 22. | Tampa | +13 |
| 23. | Houston | +2 |
| 24. | San Diego | -6 |
| 25. | Grand Rapids | +2 |
To view the full list and see if your city has a rat problem, visit Orkin’s website for the complete report.