Rodent Complaints in New York City: Where and When (2023–2026 311 Data)
By Marcus Ellery, Pest Control Editor · Updated September 2026 · Methodology
New York City logged 31,312 rodent complaints in 2025, which was down 21.2% on 2024, and 18,795 so far in 2026 through September. The year peaks in July at about 10.86% of annual volume and bottoms out in December at 4.82%. The busiest ZIP codes over the three full years were 10035, 11385, 11216, 11221, 11226, and 10035 alone ran about 3600.1 complaints per square mile.
What New York City counts
Every 311 service request filed under complaint type "Rodent", which covers resident-reported rat and mouse sightings, signs of rodents, and conditions attracting rodents. These are reports from the public, not confirmed infestations.
Pulled from NYC Open Data — 311 Service Requests (2010 to Present) (dataset erm2-nwe9) with the filter complaint_type='Rodent'. 100% of records carry a ZIP code. This is a different definition from the other cities we publish, so these counts should never be set against theirs.
Complaints by month, 2023 to 2026
September, October and November are shaded so you can see how the autumn months sit against the rest of the year in New York City.
2023
Year total 41,748
2024
Year total 39,726
2025
Year total 31,312
2026 (through Sep)
Year total 18,795
One caveat about the New York City data
New York is the only city in this set that records what kind of rodent report it is, separating a rat sighting from a mouse sighting from a report about conditions that attract them. That split is published below, and it is worth reading before treating the total as a rat count. New York also fills in a ZIP on effectively every record, which makes its geographic breakdown the most reliable of the six.
Reading the New York City numbers
New York City spreads its rodent complaints across 198 ZIP codes, and the load is not spread evenly. The busiest five carry 13% of the three-year total and the busiest ten carry 21%. ZIP 10035 alone logged 5,057 complaints, about 10.1 times the median ZIP code in the city. It is also the densest, at about 3600.1 complaints per square mile across 1.4 square miles, so it leads on both volume and concentration.
Across the year, July (10.86%), August (10.59%) and June (10.25%) are the three heaviest months, while December (4.82%), November (5.61%) and February (6.84%) are the three lightest. May through October alone accounts for roughly 59% of a New York City year. Year to year the totals ran -4.8% into 2024, then -21.2% into 2025. 2026 stands at 18,795 through September.
New York City also records what the complaint was about. In 2025, 64% of them came in as “Rat Sighting” (19,896 of 31,312), which is worth knowing before you read the total as a rodent count.
Every month, in full
The raw counts behind the charts above, so you can check our arithmetic against NYC Open Data — 311 Service Requests (2010 to Present) yourself.
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Avg share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3,050 | 2,870 | 2,180 | 1,336 | 7.16% |
| February | 2,784 | 2,866 | 2,077 | 1,183 | 6.84% |
| March | 3,109 | 2,893 | 2,896 | 2,083 | 7.99% |
| April | 3,610 | 3,466 | 2,903 | 2,100 | 8.88% |
| May | 3,795 | 4,192 | 3,332 | 2,811 | 10.09% |
| June | 3,791 | 3,926 | 3,694 | 2,647 | 10.25% |
| July | 4,331 | 4,204 | 3,635 | 2,761 | 10.86% |
| August | 4,559 | 3,985 | 3,388 | 3,253 | 10.59% |
| September | 4,009 | 3,834 | 2,785 | 621 | 9.38% |
| October | 3,461 | 3,213 | 1,935 | — | 7.52% |
| November | 2,689 | 2,407 | 1,354 | — | 5.61% |
| December | 2,560 | 1,870 | 1,133 | — | 4.82% |
Average share is the mean of each full calendar year’s monthly share, so a heavy year cannot dominate the seasonal curve. The 2026 column is incomplete by design.
The 25 busiest ZIP codes in New York City
Totals cover 2023 through 2025, the three full calendar years in the window. Per square mile uses the Census ZCTA land area, which is what makes a small dense ZIP comparable to a large one.
| Rank | ZIP | 2023–2025 total | Per sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10035 | 5,057 | 3600.1 |
| 2 | 11385 | 2,471 | 683.5 |
| 3 | 11216 | 2,366 | 2459.7 |
| 4 | 11221 | 2,249 | 1628.6 |
| 5 | 11226 | 2,234 | 1715 |
| 6 | 11238 | 2,188 | 1183.3 |
| 7 | 10025 | 2,123 | 2388.3 |
| 8 | 11215 | 1,920 | 877.3 |
| 9 | 11211 | 1,815 | 1247.8 |
| 10 | 11233 | 1,693 | 1255.1 |
| 11 | 11237 | 1,671 | 1677 |
| 12 | 10467 | 1,648 | 707.1 |
| 13 | 11206 | 1,647 | 1175.6 |
| 14 | 10027 | 1,524 | 1617.1 |
| 15 | 11213 | 1,484 | 1379.1 |
| 16 | 10452 | 1,432 | 1458 |
| 17 | 10024 | 1,416 | 1599.6 |
| 18 | 11218 | 1,384 | 1016.2 |
| 19 | 10026 | 1,377 | 3592.5 |
| 20 | 11220 | 1,359 | 786.5 |
| 21 | 10031 | 1,316 | 1966.8 |
| 22 | 11205 | 1,275 | 1088.5 |
| 23 | 11225 | 1,270 | 1451.8 |
| 24 | 11222 | 1,252 | 822.2 |
| 25 | 10456 | 1,215 | 1128.4 |
198 ZIP codes recorded at least one complaint. Volume tracks reporting behaviour as well as rodent activity: a block that knows how to use 311 shows up more than an identical block that does not.
What kind of complaint (2025)
New York City records a sub-type on each complaint, which separates an actual sighting from a report about conditions.
| Rat Sighting | 19,896 | 63.5% |
| Condition Attracting Rodents | 6,030 | 19.3% |
| Signs of Rodents | 3,988 | 12.7% |
| Mouse Sighting | 1,398 | 4.5% |
Freeze dates for New York City
The nearest NOAA station publishing 1991–2020 first-freeze normals is NY AVE V BROOKLYN, 5.2 miles from the city point. One autumn in ten sees its first 32°F night by November 6; a typical year gets one around November 19; nine years in ten have had one by December 5. The station averages 65.9 nights a year below freezing.
We went into this expecting complaints to climb toward the first freeze. In New York City they do not. New York City complaints peak in July, and by November the month carries 3.77 percentage points less of the year than September did, with the typical first freeze still landing in November. We publish the gap rather than smoothing it. The likeliest reason is that a 311 rodent complaint is mostly an outdoor rat report, and outdoor rat activity runs highest in warm weather, while the autumn move indoors is house mouse behaviour that rarely becomes a city service request. Somebody with mice behind a kitchen cabinet calls an exterminator, not the city.
What removal costs if it is your house
National 2026 planning ranges from our estimator, not New York City quotes.
| Inspection + trapping | $175 – $500 |
| Removal + exclusion (seal entry points) | $400 – $1,100 |
| Above + attic cleanup / decontamination | $700 – $2,000 |
Check a New York City ZIP
Complaint total and rank inside New York City, plus freeze dates for the nearest station.
Frequently asked questions
Which New York City ZIP codes have the most rat complaints?
Over 2023 to 2025, the busiest ZIP codes were 10035 (5,057), 11385 (2,471), 11216 (2,366), 11221 (2,249), 11226 (2,234). Ranking by complaints per square mile changes the order, because a large ZIP collects more calls simply by being large. Both columns are in the table above. A busy ZIP code reflects how often people there call 311, which is not the same as how many rodents live there.
When do rodent complaints peak in New York City?
July, which carries about 10.86% of the year's complaints against 4.82% in December, the quietest month. That is roughly 2.3 times the volume between the high and low month. Autumn is already past the peak: November carries 3.77 points less of the year than September does.
What exactly does New York City count as a rodent complaint?
Every 311 service request filed under complaint type "Rodent", which covers resident-reported rat and mouse sightings, signs of rodents, and conditions attracting rodents. These are reports from the public, not confirmed infestations. We pulled it from NYC Open Data — 311 Service Requests (2010 to Present) using the filter complaint_type='Rodent'. Nearly every record carries a ZIP code, so the ZIP code table and the citywide totals agree closely.
Are rodent complaints rising in New York City?
Between 2023 and 2025 they went down, by -25%. Year over year, 2025 was down 21.2% against 2024. Complaint counts move when a city promotes its 311 line or changes a category, so read the direction as a signal about reporting as much as about rodents.
Does the New York City complaint peak match the first freeze?
No, and the mismatch is the interesting part. The typical first 32°F night at NY AVE V BROOKLYN lands in November, but New York City complaints peak in July and are already falling by November. We checked this across all six cities we pull and the pattern held in every one of them, so we are not going to tell you 311 data proves a rodent season that starts at the first freeze. City 311 rodent complaints are dominated by outdoor rat activity, which runs highest in warm months. The autumn move indoors is mostly a house mouse story, and a mouse in your wall rarely generates a call to the city.
Sources
- NYC Open Data — 311 Service Requests (2010 to Present) — dataset erm2-nwe9, filtered on
complaint_type='Rodent', extracted September 9, 2026. - NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station USC00305796, NY AVE V BROOKLYN.
- U.S. Census Bureau 2023 ZCTA gazetteer — ZIP land area used for the per-square-mile column.
- UC Statewide IPM Program — Pest Notes: Rats (Publication 74106) — rat behaviour and exclusion.
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PestCost is an independent cost-information site, not a pest-control company, and does not service New York City. We may be compensated by licensed providers who receive your call or quote request. This never changes what you pay. Complaint counts describe what residents reported to New York City, not a count of rodents.