RatCity — Chicago Rat and Rodent Sightings Map

RatCity

4106 locations in the last 30 days (4288 reports) · Last sighting yesterday

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What am I looking at?

Each circle is a Chicago neighborhood. The number is its report count — click one to zoom in and see individual sightings there.

32080fewer → more

Colors are relative to what’s currently on screen, so they adjust as you switch time ranges.

Zoomed into a neighborhood or zip? Same colors group nearby reports, and a bright dot means that exact spot’s been reported more than once.

Why Chicago keeps score on its rats

Chicago has topped national rankings of the rattiest U.S. cities for over a decade running — a reputation the city itself takes seriously enough to run one of the country’s most active 311 rodent-complaint programs. Every baiting request, burrow report, and complaint filed with the city becomes a public record. RatCity turns that record, plus reports from people who live here, into a map you can actually use: is this block bad? Is it getting worse? Which neighborhood is winning (or losing) the fight this month?

What’s actually on the map

Most of the data is Chicago’s own — every “Rodent Baiting/Rat Complaint” filed through 311, pulled in automatically once a day so the map never goes stale. Layered on top are sightings reported directly by visitors, matched to the same neighborhood and zip-code boundaries the city uses, so a resident’s report and an official 311 complaint carry equal weight on the map.

Reading the map

Circles are sized and colored by how many reports a neighborhood has racked up — blue is quiet, red means trouble. The Day / Week / 30 Days / Year toggle up top changes the window, so you can see whether a neighborhood’s rat problem is a one-week blip or a year-long trend. Whoever’s in the lead gets crowned the neighborhood Rat King in the sidebar, a title that changes hands as new reports come in.

Noticed a rat that isn’t on the map yet? Use “Report a sighting” above — it takes under a minute and goes live as soon as it’s reviewed. Curious about where the data actually comes from or how reports are moderated? See the About page for the full breakdown.

Want more? The blog has weekly trend recaps and guides on Chicago’s rat problem and how to keep it out of your home.

Browse every sighting

59,989 reports match your filters.

DateAddressNeighborhoodWardStatusResponse timeReported viaSource
6/8/20265210 S DREXEL AVEHyde Park20Completed4 daysPhone CallCity 311
10/25/20255210 S LUNA AVEGarfield Ridge23Completed4 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
6/4/20265210 S MORGAN STNew City20Completed1 dayPhone CallCity 311
5/28/20265210 S MORGAN STNew City20Completed1 dayPhone CallCity 311
10/13/20255210 S NARRAGANSETT AVEGarfield Ridge23Completed8 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
7/27/20265210 W MONTANA STBelmont Cragin31Completed10 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
3/1/20265210 W MONTANA STBelmont Cragin31Completed5 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
11/11/20255210 W MONTANA STBelmont Cragin31Completed2 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
8/17/20255210 W MONTROSE AVEPortage Park45Completed10 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
9/3/20255211 N MAGNOLIA AVEEdgewater48Completed1 dayPhone CallCity 311
4/3/20265211 N MAGNOLIA AVEEdgewater48Completed4 daysInternetCity 311
9/14/20265211 S CENTRAL AVEGarfield Ridge23Completed10 daysInternetCity 311
6/28/20265211 S GREENWOOD AVEHyde Park5Completed9 daysInternetCity 311
7/9/20265211 S GREENWOOD AVEHyde Park5Completed8 daysInternetCity 311
7/20/20265211 S LEAMINGTON AVEGarfield Ridge23Completed7 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
1/21/20265211 S MORGAN STNew City20Completed1 dayInternetCity 311
10/1/20255211 S NARRAGANSETT AVEGarfield Ridge23Completed6 daysAlderman's OfficeCity 311
6/18/20265211 S RIDGEWAY AVEWest Elsdon23Completed4 daysPhone CallCity 311
8/4/20265211 S SACRAMENTO AVEGage Park14Completed1 dayPhone CallCity 311
11/6/20265211 W 53RD PLGarfield Ridge23Open—Alderman's OfficeCity 311
8/6/20265211 W MELROSE STPortage Park30Completed14 daysAlderman's OfficeCity 311
10/30/20255211 W PENSACOLA AVEPortage Park45Completed5 daysInternetCity 311
9/29/20265212 N LUDLAM AVEJefferson Park45Completed15 daysInternetCity 311
7/31/20265212 S CORNELL AVEHyde Park5Completed6 daysInternetCity 311
7/27/20265212 S CORNELL AVEHyde Park5Completed1 dayInternetCity 311
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