RatCity — Chicago Rat and Rodent Sightings Map

RatCity

4080 locations in the last 30 days (4263 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.

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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

59,447 reports match your filters.

DateAddressNeighborhoodWardStatusResponse timeReported viaSource
5/8/20265643 W LELAND AVEPortage Park45Completed3 daysPhone CallCity 311
5/8/20265446 N NORMANDY AVENorwood Park41Completed4 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
5/8/20261425 W BYRON STLake View46Completed4 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20261728 W CERMAK RDLower West Side25Completed4 daysAlderman's OfficeCity 311
5/8/20261638 N MOZART STWest Town26Completed3 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20261636 N MOZART STWest Town26Completed3 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/202648 N LATROBE AVEAustin37Completed6 daysAlderman's OfficeCity 311
5/8/20266150 S WHIPPLE STChicago Lawn15Completed3 daysPhone CallCity 311
5/8/20261720 W ALTGELD STLincoln Park32Completed3 daysPhone CallCity 311
5/8/20263618 S UNION AVEBridgeport11Completed5 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/2026632 W BELDEN AVELincoln Park43Completed3 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20262660 N BOSWORTH AVELincoln Park32Completed3 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20264819 N CALIFORNIA AVELincoln Square40Completed4 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
5/8/20265100 N SHERIDAN RDUptown48Completed3 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20265935 W EASTWOOD AVEPortage Park38Completed5 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/2026737 W BRIAR PLLake View44Completed4 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20266758 S LANGLEY AVEWoodlawn6Completed4 daysPhone CallCity 311
5/8/20262222 W DIVERSEY PKWYLogan Square32Completed3 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20264241 N LARAMIE AVEPortage Park45Completed3 daysAlderman's OfficeCity 311
5/8/2026738 W BELDEN AVELincoln Park43Completed3 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
5/8/2026517 N RACINE AVEWest Town27Completed4 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
5/8/20264444 N DOVER STUptown46Completed4 daysMobile DeviceCity 311
5/8/20264415 S SAWYER AVEBrighton Park12Completed4 daysInternetCity 311
5/8/20264440 S SAWYER AVEBrighton Park12Completed4 daysPhone CallCity 311
5/8/20262720 N WAYNE AVELincoln Park32Completed3 daysPhone CallCity 311
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