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
Brooklyn accounts for the most rodent complaints of any borough — more than Manhattan and roughly as many as Queens and the Bronx combined. Staten Island, with its lower density and more detached housing, sits far below the rest.
NYC’s 20 rattiest neighborhoods (by ZIP code)
| # | Neighborhood | Borough · ZIP | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Harlem | Manhattan · 10035 | 6,753 |
| 2 | Bedford-Stuyvesant / Crown Heights | Brooklyn · 11216 | 5,329 |
| 3 | Upper West Side | Manhattan · 10025 | 5,230 |
| 4 | Bushwick / Bed-Stuy | Brooklyn · 11221 | 5,047 |
| 5 | Flatbush | Brooklyn · 11226 | 4,758 |
| 6 | Prospect Heights / Clinton Hill | Brooklyn · 11238 | 4,681 |
| 7 | Ridgewood | Queens · 11385 | 4,339 |
| 8 | Bushwick | Brooklyn · 11237 | 3,719 |
| 9 | Bed-Stuy / Ocean Hill | Brooklyn · 11233 | 3,717 |
| 10 | Park Slope | Brooklyn · 11215 | 3,473 |
| 11 | Harlem / Morningside Heights | Manhattan · 10027 | 3,446 |
| 12 | Harlem | Manhattan · 10026 | 3,255 |
| 13 | Williamsburg | Brooklyn · 11211 | 3,245 |
| 14 | Norwood | The Bronx · 10467 | 3,230 |
| 15 | Crown Heights | Brooklyn · 11213 | 3,114 |
| 16 | Upper West Side | Manhattan · 10024 | 3,085 |
| 17 | Williamsburg / East Bushwick | Brooklyn · 11206 | 3,019 |
| 18 | East New York | Brooklyn · 11207 | 2,874 |
| 19 | Crown Heights | Brooklyn · 11225 | 2,725 |
| 20 | Highbridge / Concourse | The Bronx · 10452 | 2,719 |
Methodology: rodent (rat & mouse) complaints filed with NYC 311 and published via the NYC Open Data Service Requests dataset. Figures reflect total complaints on record by borough and ZIP code.
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. East Harlem, central Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Bushwick, Flatbush), 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 for good — 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 & exclusion — 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.
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.
