The 10 Worst NYC Neighborhoods for Rat Activity in 2025
This ranking orders neighborhoods by complaints per 10,000 residents rather than by raw count, so that densely populated areas do not rank highly on population alone. Raw complaint totals appear alongside every entry for readers who prefer that view.
East Harlem (North) leads at 364.88 complaints per 10,000 residents from 1,418 complaints, more than three times the rate of Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, which ranks second at 111.92. Harlem (South) is third at 102.09. Both Harlem neighborhoods sit within one of the city's designated Rat Mitigation Zones, where sustained inspection and outreach encourage reporting, so their standing here reflects reporting intensity alongside underlying conditions. Eight of the ten neighborhoods listed reported fewer complaints than in 2024, with Bushwick (West) down 48.1 percent.
Complaints per 10,000 residents
The full ranking
| # | Neighborhood | Borough | Per 10k | Complaints | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Harlem (North) | Manhattan | 364.88 | 1,418 | -33.1% from 2,121 |
| 2 | Prospect Heights | Brooklyn | 111.92 | 653 | -12.1% from 743 |
| 3 | Harlem (South) | Manhattan | 102.09 | 379 | -20.5% from 477 |
| 4 | Highbridge | Bronx | 99.5 | 753 | +97.1% from 382 |
| 5 | Bedford-Stuyvesant (West) | Brooklyn | 84.99 | 955 | -22.3% from 1,229 |
| 6 | Upper West Side (Central) | Manhattan | 77.95 | 492 | +11.6% from 441 |
| 7 | Morningside Heights | Manhattan | 75.92 | 485 | -5.6% from 514 |
| 8 | Bedford-Stuyvesant (East) | Brooklyn | 74.25 | 680 | -12.7% from 779 |
| 9 | Bushwick (West) | Brooklyn | 72.13 | 327 | -48.1% from 630 |
| 10 | Flatbush | Brooklyn | 71.16 | 677 | -16.9% from 815 |
Sorting changes the order shown and renumbers the left column. Rate per 10,000 residents is the default because raw counts track population as much as rat activity.
Not ranked
Midtown-Times Square (Manhattan) reported 1 complaint but has no residential population, so no rate can be calculated for it.
How these figures are produced
Counts come from NYC 311 service requests with a complaint type of Rodent. Neighborhood names are NYC Department of City Planning Neighborhood Tabulation Areas, matched to zip codes by population. Reporting is self selected, and the city's Rat Mitigation Zones raise reporting where they operate. The full methodology is set out on the main report page.