Weekly Rat Trends — Sep 21–Sep 27, 2026

Chicago logged 1,046 new rat and rodent reports this week — down 14% from 1,215 the week before.

👑 Lake View takes this week’s Rat King crown with 54 reports — wear it with pride, or shame, your call.

📈 On the rise

Neighborhoods with the biggest jump from last week:

• Rogers Park: 28 this week, up from 13 — a jump of +15
• Austin: 45 this week, up from 33 — a jump of +12
• Lake View: 54 this week, up from 44 — a jump of +10

📉 Rat-free heroes

Neighborhoods that quieted down the most:

• West Englewood: down to 22 from 105 — 83 fewer reports
• New City: down to 17 from 47 — 30 fewer reports
• Near North Side: down to 7 from 24 — 17 fewer reports

🏙️ How fast is the city actually moving?

The city resolved 1,189 baiting requests this week, averaging 10.9 days from complaint to resolution (faster than the 11.3-day average the week before).

🐀 The rats’ favorite wards

Where a baiting request can really stretch its legs before getting closed:

• Ward 30: 13.7 days on average (74 closed this week)
• Ward 16: 13.6 days on average (10 closed this week)
• Ward 45: 12.9 days on average (33 closed this week)

⚡ No mercy wards

Where the city shows up and doesn’t mess around:

• Ward 34: 3.9 days on average (6 closed this week)
• Ward 2: 4.8 days on average (14 closed this week)
• Ward 29: 7.8 days on average (12 closed this week)

⏳ Still waiting

A complaint at 551 N PINE AVE in Austin has been open 8 days and counting — the longest of anything filed this week. Godspeed.

Want the underlying data? Browse every sighting from this week on the live map and table.