For the tenth consecutive year, Chicago has been named the nation’s top “Rattiest City” in Orkin’s annual list, reflecting the city’s persistent struggle with rodents. Following closely, Los Angeles ranks second, with San Francisco also making the top five, coming in fourth. Sacramento and San Diego, ranked 20th and 18th respectively, also represent California in the top 25.
Rodents remain a major concern in urban areas as cooler weather drives them indoors in search of food and shelter. This year’s rankings were based on new residential rodent treatments tracked from September 2023 to August 2024.
These cities are grappling with rodent issues similar to top-ranked Chicago, with Los Angeles and San Francisco consistently in the top five since 2017. The data, collected from residential rodent treatments over the past year, highlights the growing rodent problem in many of California’s largest cities.