2026-03-12 | data, rodents, violations, neighborhoods
The 2026 Chicago Rat Map
2,352 rodent citations across three years of inspection data
Chicago has a rat problem. Everyone knows this. What nobody talks about is how unevenly the rats distribute across the city's restaurants.
The inspection database has 2,352 rodent citations since 2023. Mouse droppings, rat droppings, gnaw marks, nesting material. The geographic pattern is economic.
Chicago received over 35,000 rat complaints in 2023 alone, consistently ranking among the most rat-infested cities in the United States.
The Neighborhoods
Englewood: 216 citations. Way out in front. Garfield Park at 147, Austin at 137. Older buildings, higher vacancy, structural conditions that invite rodents.
Beverly at 134. Surprised me. Good restaurants, high homeownership, but aging commercial corridors with gaps and crawl spaces mice don't need an invitation for. Chinatown rounds out the top five at 133.
Lincoln Park: 23 rodent citations over three years. Streeterville: 11. Same city.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Rodent Citations (3yr) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Englewood | 216 |
| 2 | Garfield Park | 147 |
| 3 | Austin | 137 |
| 4 | Beverly | 134 |
| 5 | Chinatown | 133 |
| 6 | South Chicago | 115 |
| 7 | Chatham | 112 |
| 8 | South Shore | 106 |
| 9 | Bridgeport | 95 |
| 10 | Albany Park | 90 |
Full rodent rankings | What is Code 33?
What Inspectors Actually Find
Typical citation: "Observed approximately 10 mouse droppings under shelving by mop sink area." Needs attention. Not an emergency.
Then there's Frank's Pizzeria on Belmont. Over 100 droppings throughout the establishment, including inside two ovens and a fryer. A few droppings near a door is a building problem. A hundred inside your cooking equipment is something else. Both get Code 33.
A single pair of mice can produce up to 36,000 droppings per year. By the time droppings are visible during a routine inspection, the population is established.
Rodent evidence violation (Code 33)
Roaches Are a Different Map
Chinatown leads at 96, Rogers Park at 57, Albany Park at 45. Roaches care about plumbing and density, not alleys and vacant lots.
Total roach count (909 since 2023) is lower than rodents (2,352). Roaches are nocturnal. Inspections happen during the day. Droppings persist. Roaches hide.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Roach Citations (3yr) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinatown | 96 |
| 2 | Rogers Park | 57 |
| 3 | Albany Park | 45 |
| 4 | Garfield Park | 42 |
| 5 | Austin | 39 |
Cockroach violation (Code 38) | Full roach rankings
Same operator, same procedures — more citations in Englewood than Lincoln Park. Pest control is a neighborhood problem that individual restaurants pay for individually. Rankings update on the leaderboards page. Search any restaurant on Chispections.
Search any restaurant's pest history | Chicago's dirtiest neighborhoods