Straight answers from a licensed New York exterminator and Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) — serving all five boroughs, in English and Spanish.
Get a Free Estimate →⏱ 6 min read
Every time a New Yorker reports a rat to 311, it becomes a public record. We pulled those rodent-complaint records from NYC Open Data and ranked the city — by borough and by ZIP code — to map where rats are reported most. I’m Jorge Bedoya, an Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE); below the data, I’ll explain what actually drives these patterns and what it means for your home or building.
Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite this analysis. Please credit New York Exterminating with a link to this page. Suggested line: “According to a NYC 311 rodent-complaint analysis by New York Exterminating (nyepestcontrol.com)…” For an expert quote, contact Jorge Bedoya, ACE, at (347) 210-4646.
Rat complaints by borough
From October 2025 through September 2026, New Yorkers filed 25,266 rodent complaints with 311. Brooklyn had the most of any borough, more than Manhattan and more than Queens and the Bronx combined; Staten Island, with lower density and more detached housing, sits far below the rest. Complaints fell about 27% from the previous 12 months (34,380), and every borough was down: Manhattan 38%, the Bronx 30%, Brooklyn 23%, Queens 15% and Staten Island 8%. Fewer complaints do not always mean fewer rats, since reporting habits change too, but the drop showed up in every month of the year.
NYC’s 20 rattiest neighborhoods (by ZIP code), Oct 2025 – Sep 2026
| # | Neighborhood | Borough · ZIP | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean Hill / Stuyvesant Heights | Brooklyn · 11233 | 700 |
| 2 | Astoria | Queens · 11103 | 636 |
| 3 | Flatbush | Brooklyn · 11226 | 600 |
| 4 | Bedford-Stuyvesant | Brooklyn · 11216 | 542 |
| 5 | Bushwick / Bed-Stuy | Brooklyn · 11221 | 537 |
| 6 | Highbridge / Concourse | The Bronx · 10452 | 514 |
| 7 | Harlem / Morningside Heights | Manhattan · 10027 | 456 |
| 8 | Prospect Heights / Clinton Hill | Brooklyn · 11238 | 440 |
| 9 | Upper West Side | Manhattan · 10024 | 429 |
| 10 | Prospect Lefferts Gardens | Brooklyn · 11225 | 407 |
| 11 | Crown Heights | Brooklyn · 11213 | 385 |
| 12 | Upper West Side / Manhattan Valley | Manhattan · 10025 | 359 |
| 13 | Kensington / Windsor Terrace | Brooklyn · 11218 | 352 |
| 14 | Williamsburg / Bed-Stuy | Brooklyn · 11206 | 348 |
| 15 | Ridgewood / Glendale | Queens · 11385 | 338 |
| 16 | Bay Ridge | Brooklyn · 11209 | 326 |
| 17 | East Village / Gramercy | Manhattan · 10003 | 320 |
| 18 | Norwood / Williamsbridge | The Bronx · 10467 | 314 |
| 19 | Midwood | Brooklyn · 11230 | 313 |
| 20 | Fort Greene / Clinton Hill | Brooklyn · 11205 | 312 |
Methodology: all 311 service requests with complaint type “Rodent” (rat sightings, signs of rodents, mouse sightings and conditions attracting rodents) created October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, from the NYC Open Data 311 Service Requests dataset (erm2-nwe9), pulled October 2, 2026 and counted by incident ZIP code and borough. Rat sightings were 67% of these complaints and mouse sightings 3%. Neighborhood names are approximate, because ZIP codes cross neighborhood lines.
Brooklyn’s 10 rattiest ZIP codes
Brooklyn logged 9,295 rodent complaints in the 12 months, and 12 of the city’s top 20 ZIP codes are in Brooklyn, most of them in the brownstone and pre-war belt running from Bed-Stuy and Bushwick through Crown Heights and Flatbush. Our own Midwood ZIP, 11230, is 19th citywide with 313. For borough-by-borough coverage, see our Brooklyn pest control neighborhood guide and our Bronx exterminator page, which breaks down the Bronx ZIP codes.
| # | Neighborhood | ZIP | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean Hill / Stuyvesant Heights | 11233 | 700 |
| 2 | Flatbush | 11226 | 600 |
| 3 | Bedford-Stuyvesant | 11216 | 542 |
| 4 | Bushwick / Bed-Stuy | 11221 | 537 |
| 5 | Prospect Heights / Clinton Hill | 11238 | 440 |
| 6 | Prospect Lefferts Gardens | 11225 | 407 |
| 7 | Crown Heights | 11213 | 385 |
| 8 | Kensington / Windsor Terrace | 11218 | 352 |
| 9 | Williamsburg / Bed-Stuy | 11206 | 348 |
| 10 | Bay Ridge | 11209 | 326 |
If you live in or manage a building in one of these ZIP codes, exclusion matters more than bait: sealing gaps at the foundation, pipe penetrations and door sweeps is what keeps rats out. See our rodent control in Brooklyn service.
What an entomologist sees in this data
These rankings aren’t random — they trace the city’s oldest, densest housing. The leaders share the same ingredients: aging sewer and water infrastructure, dense pre-war and brownstone building stock with countless gaps and shared walls, heavy foot traffic and food waste, and ongoing construction that displaces established colonies. Central Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Bushwick, Flatbush), Harlem and the Upper West Side check every box.
It’s also worth saying plainly: a high complaint count is not a sign that residents are doing anything wrong. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) follow infrastructure and food, not housekeeping. In neighborhoods like Ridgewood, Norwood, and Highbridge, the fix is the same one we use everywhere: find the entry points and seal the building, rather than just baiting.
What this means for your home or building
If you live or own property in one of these areas, treat rodent pressure as a constant to be managed, not a one-time event. The durable solution is exclusion — sealing the gaps rats use to get in (a rat needs only a quarter-inch) with metal mesh and hardware cloth — combined with monitoring and, where appropriate, burrow treatment. Bait alone never solves a rodent problem; it just refills. See our rat & mouse exclusion service, and the borough pages for Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx.
ACE-certified exclusion that seals rodents out with metal, not just bait. Same-day across NYC.
Use this data: Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite this study with a link to this page. Source data: NYC Open Data, 311 Service Requests (rodent complaints).
Dealing with this pest now? See our rodent control in Brooklyn — ACE-led, no contracts, all five boroughs. Call (347) 210-4646 for a free estimate.
Why New Yorkers choose NYE
Led by an ACE
Every job is overseen by Jorge Bedoya, an Associate Certified Entomologist (ESA) — not a call center.
No contracts
One thorough treatment with an optional 50%-off verification visit. No auto-renewal, no lock-in.
Elimination, not spraying
Resistance-aware methods — including our signature microinjection — that target the source, with documentation.
Licensed & local
NYSDEC Reg. #15140, serving all five boroughs since 2010. Fully bilingual (EN/ES).
Backed by science, not guesswork. Your treatment is led by Jorge Bedoya, an Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) credentialed by the Entomological Society of America — correct pest ID, resistance-aware products, and a documented plan.
A Brooklyn-based, NYSDEC-registered company (Reg. #15140) led by Jorge Bedoya, an Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE). For rats and mice, NYE provides rodent exclusion that seals the entry points, not just trapping. ACE-led work comes with a client portal of service reports and photos, fully bilingual service, and no long-term contract.
What happens after you call
- Fast response. Call (347) 210-4646 — same-day appointments are often available, including after-hours emergencies.
- Inspection & ID. We confirm the pest and find the source, not just where you saw it.
- Targeted treatment. A resistance-aware plan matched to the pest, explained before we start.
- Verification & prevention. Optional follow-up to confirm zero activity, plus reports and photos in your client portal.
