4 California Cities Named the Most Rat Infested Cities in America

If we challenged you to name the most rat infested city in the country, what would be your first guess? 

If you’re a 90s kid who grew up watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons and movies, you may want to say New York City. The heroes live in a sewer. They’re led by a giant rat. That has to be inspired by real life, right? 

Even if you’re too young to remember Master Splinter, you’re probably familiar with the famous “Pizza Rat” video that went viral in 2015. Matt Little’s video shows a rat dragging a slice of pizza down the stairs of a New York City Subway. That video has been viewed an insane 12.4 million times. #PizzaRat was everywhere. Yandy, one of the companies responsible for unnecessarily sexy Halloween costumes, even created a sexy pizza rat outfit.  

If New York City was your guess, that’s a pretty solid guess. When Orkin released its most recent list of the top rodent infested cities in the United States, NYC checked in at #3. 

READ MORE: Los Angeles, California Ranked One of America's Bed Bug Capitals

The pest control company put together the list as a way to warn homeowners about the dangers rodents, like rats, pose to their property. Rodents often try to take shelter in homes or businesses so that they don’t freeze to death. They may be looking for food and water, too…but they may also chew through important things in your home like electrical wires, water pipes or gas lines. 

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Orkin explains that they ranked the 50 metros on their list based on new rodent treatments their technicians performed at homes and businesses from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023. After crunching the numbers, Chicago, home of the equally viral “Chicago Rat Hole,” took the top spot for the ninth year in a row. 

A California city wasn’t far behind! 

Los Angeles, California Named the #2 Most Rat-Infested City in the U.S.

According to Orkin, Los Angeles is the rat capital of the western United States. It rose one spot on the list to take the #2 spot. They’re not the only California city struggling with these critters. San Francisco was close behind at #5. San Diego is still on the list, but fell nine spots to #28. Sacramento rose seven spots to #33. 

Other Popular Boise Vacation Destinations Made the List?

Spring Break and Summer Vacation season is right around the corner. California is always a popular destination for Idaho travelers, but so are other cities in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain regions. Here’s a look at where some other popular vacation destinations landed.