15 Rattiest NYC Neighborhoods (2026): 311 Rodent Complaint Data

The Data

NYC residents report rats to 311, and every complaint logs a location, date and descriptor (rat sighting, signs of rodents, conditions attracting rodents, mouse sighting). For every residential NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA) we placed 100 random points inside its boundary and counted the 311 rodent complaints filed within 150 meters of each point — roughly a one-and-a-half-block radius, the same count the DwellCheck address report shows. The ranking uses the median point: the typical spot in the neighborhood.

🗺️

197

Residential neighborhoods ranked

📊

Citywide median, complaints / 150m

🐀

Rattiest neighborhood median

📅

2026-09-13

311 data through

The 15 Rattiest NYC Neighborhoods

Higher is rattier. "Median" is the number of 311 rodent complaints within 150 meters of the typical sampled spot, March 17, 2026 to September 13, 2026; "mean" averages all 100 spots, so one heavily reported block can pull it above the median.

Rank	Neighborhood	Borough	Median / 150m	Mean
#1	Harlem (South)	Manhattan	11	15.2
#2	Upper East Side-Yorkville	Manhattan	10	12.7
#3	Bedford-Stuyvesant (East)	Brooklyn	8	9.7
#4	Bedford-Stuyvesant (West)	Brooklyn	8	9.1
#5	Harlem (North)	Manhattan	7	9.5
#6	Upper West Side-Manhattan Valley	Manhattan	7	8.5
#7	Upper West Side (Central)	Manhattan	6	11.6
#8	Crown Heights (North)	Brooklyn	6	7.8
#9	Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill	Manhattan	6	6.7
#10	Flatbush	Brooklyn	5.5	7.4
#11	Bushwick (West)	Brooklyn	5.5	6.8
#12	East Village	Manhattan	5	10.2
#13	Ocean Hill	Brooklyn	5	7
#14	Fordham Heights	Bronx	5	6.9
#15	Prospect Heights	Brooklyn	4	12.3

Data source: NYC Open Data 311 Service Requests (erm2-nwe9), pulled September 14, 2026; 100 random points per neighborhood.

⚠️A note on "reported" vs "actual"

311 data captures reported rodent complaints, not rat populations. Neighborhoods where residents call 311 more often file more reports, and real problems don't always surface in complaint data. Treat this as a directional signal, not a rodent census.

Why Are Some Neighborhoods Rattier Than Others?

This ranking measures complaints, not causes. Rats follow food, shelter and trash, so common factors include:

Dense restaurant corridors — open trash and nightly food waste.
Older housing stock — burrow access through foundation cracks and old pipes.
Trash left on the curb — bags set out overnight are an easy food source.
Parks with food litter — and the blocks around them.
Construction activity — dig sites can displace burrows onto nearby blocks.

Check Rodent Complaints for Any Address

Neighborhood rankings are a starting point. Enter any NYC address to see 311 rodent complaints within 150m plus the building's own complaint history.

Check Any Address — Free

Methodology

Source: 311 Service Requests from 2010 to Present (NYC Open Data dataset erm2-nwe9), pulled September 14, 2026.
Time window: Complaints created March 17, 2026 through September 13, 2026, the 180 days ending at the latest complaint date published when the data was pulled.
Complaint type: "Rodent" (all descriptors: rat sighting, signs of rodents, conditions attracting rodents, mouse sighting).
Geographic unit: The 197 residential 2020 NYC Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs); parks, airports, cemeteries and other non-residential NTAs are not ranked.
Sampling: 100 random points inside each NTA boundary (seeded, so a rerun on the same data reproduces them). For each point, NYC Open Data counts the complaints within 150 meters (straight-line distance). A point near a neighborhood or borough edge counts complaints across it.
Ranking: The median of the 100 point counts, highest first; ties are broken by the mean.

What About the Least Ratty Neighborhoods?

At the other end of the same ranking, the neighborhoods with the fewest rodent complaints around the typical spot are Co-op City (Bronx, median 0), Douglaston-Little Neck (Queens, median 0), Rosedale (Queens, median 0), Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Lighthouse Hill-Manor Heights (Staten Island, median 0), and Tottenville-Charleston (Staten Island, median 0).

But "least ratty" still means rats exist. Check the specific building on DwellCheck for its full rodent complaint history before you sign anything.

How to Protect Yourself as a Renter

Check the building's 311 rodent history before signing (the 311 dataset on NYC Open Data, or DwellCheck for a faster aggregated view).
Ask the super about recent extermination visits. Regular scheduled service is a better sign than waiting for complaints.
Inspect the trash room during your viewing. Sealed compactors and rodent-proof containers are a good sign; loose bags and visible droppings are a red flag.
Check the basement and utility rooms if the landlord will let you. Rats travel through pipes and wall cavities.
Look for rub marks and droppings along walls and baseboards — signs of active infestation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which NYC neighborhood has the most rats?

By 311 rodent complaints, the rattiest NYC neighborhood is Harlem (South) (Manhattan). At the typical (median) spot of 100 random points we sampled there, 11 rodent complaints were filed within 150 meters between March 17, 2026 and September 13, 2026, against a citywide median of 1. These are complaints people filed, not a count of rats.

What counts as a 311 rodent complaint?

Every complaint filed under the 311 "Rodent" complaint type. Most are rat sightings; the rest report conditions attracting rodents, signs of rodents, or mouse sightings. It is the same complaint type the DwellCheck address report counts.

Does a lot of rat complaints mean a rat problem?

Usually it means people are seeing rats or conditions that attract them. But 311 data captures reported complaints, not total rats: neighborhoods where residents call 311 more often will rank higher than places with similar rat activity and fewer calls. The Department of Health publishes rodent inspection results separately on NYC Open Data.

How do I find a rat-free NYC neighborhood?

No NYC neighborhood is rat-free, but some file far fewer complaints. By the same measure, the five neighborhoods with the fewest rodent complaints around the typical spot are Co-op City (Bronx), Douglaston-Little Neck (Queens), Rosedale (Queens), Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Lighthouse Hill-Manor Heights (Staten Island), Tottenville-Charleston (Staten Island). Check any specific address on DwellCheck for its own 150-meter count.

Is this list fair to diverse neighborhoods?

The rankings reflect reported 311 complaints. Neighborhoods where residents call 311 more often may file more complaints than those with similar conditions and fewer calls. Use these rankings as a directional signal.

Do buildings have to disclose rat problems to tenants?

NYC does not require landlords to disclose rat history to prospective tenants. But NYC law requires landlords to maintain buildings free of vermin, and tenants can file 311 complaints that trigger Department of Health inspections. A building with chronic 311 rodent complaints in its address history is a strong red flag during any apartment search.

What does the city do about rats?

NYC runs a Rat Academy training program and appointed a citywide director of rodent mitigation (the "Rat Czar") in 2023. Enforcement focuses on trash containment (the new DSNY containerization rules are the biggest intervention), baiting programs in high-activity areas, and inspections. Results vary by neighborhood.

How often is this list updated?

NYC's 311 data updates daily through NYC Open Data. This list does not update with it: DwellCheck recomputes it by script, and the current numbers come from a pull on September 14, 2026 covering complaints filed March 17, 2026 through September 13, 2026. A rat-focused cleanup in one neighborhood can shift rankings noticeably over a few months.

The Bottom Line

NYC's rat map isn't a moral judgment. The 15 neighborhoods above had the most 311 rodent complaints around the typical spot in the latest 180 days of data. If you're apartment hunting in any of them, check the specific building's history before you sign.

The 15 Rattiest NYC Neighborhoods (2026)

Quick Answer