{"id":719,"date":"2021-11-15T10:30:32","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T10:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?post_type=studies&p=14879"},"modified":"2021-11-15T15:55:47","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T15:55:47","slug":"rodent-complaints-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/research\/rodent-complaints-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Rats Ruling Your Neighborhood?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever come across rats carrying bits and pieces of leftover food? Or maybe you\u2019ve seen them in your kitchen and gone completely wild trying to kill them? It is known that rats are rampant in the city and live among us, taking refuge and shelter on the streets, and even sometimes in our homes. What\u2019s worse is that rodents are a major public health problem, and more and more resources are invested in rodent inspection and prevention.<\/p>\n

RentHop Rat Complaint Study<\/h3>\n

Each year, we at RentHop<\/a> examine the data from major U.S. cities, hoping to help renters and homeowners make an informed decision when it comes to housing. This year, we again reviewed the rat sightings data, and what we discovered isn\u2019t great. Our study this year includes Boston<\/a>, Chicago<\/a>, New York City<\/a>, and Washington D.C.<\/a>, and three of them saw a drastic increase in the number of rodent complaints.<\/p>\n

Figure 1<\/a> below highlights the number of rodent complaints between January 1 and November 10, from 2015 to 2021. In Boston<\/a>, the number went down 10% this year. In D.C.<\/a>, the number is a lot worse. As of November 10, 2021, DC 311 has received 11,029 rodent complaints, or 15.92 complaints\/1,000 population. This number is 26% higher than in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a>Figure 1<\/div>\n

In New York<\/a>, the number of rodent complaints decreased slightly in 2020, mostly due to reduced population and an overwhelmed 311 system. This year, though, things are quite different. As of November 10, 2021, New York 311 has received over 25,000 reports of rat sightings across the five boroughs, 28.7% more than last year.<\/p>\n

Chicago<\/a>, a.k.a. the rat capital, not surprisingly, has had the greatest number of rat sightings\/1,000 population among the cities included. As of November 10, the city\u2019s 311 reporting system received 60,054 rodent complaints or 22.2\/1,000 population, an 11.1% increase compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n

Just knowing which city has the most rodent sightings isn\u2019t good enough. We at RentHop further analyzed the data by neighborhood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Select one of the cities below to learn more:<\/p>\n

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Boston<\/a> | Chicago<\/a> | New York City<\/a> | Washington D.C.<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Boston can finally take a breather – rodent activity is down 10% this year<\/h2>\n

After a tough year with rats roaming around, we have some good news for Bostonians – 311 reports involving rodent activity are down 10% this year. As of November 10, Boston 311 received 3,225 rodent activity reports in 2021, which translates to 4.71 complaints per 1,000 population.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Figure 2<\/div>\n

Which Boston neighborhoods are run by rats this year?<\/h3>\n

The campaign initiated by the city\u2019s Inspectional Services Department seems to be working. The number is dropping, but not everyone is as lucky. Rodent activities, in fact, got worse in some places. Let\u2019s find out if your neighborhood is one of them!<\/span><\/p>\n

The interactive map below indicates the concentration of rodent complaints in Boston. Neighborhoods in darker shades have a higher concentration of rodent complaints in 2021. It is highly possible that larger neighborhoods receive more complaints than smaller neighborhoods, and so we normalized the number of rodent complaints by land size. You can click on the polygons to learn more about each neighborhood.<\/p>\n