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Rat City

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It’s a shame what’s happening in cities across the country. And it’s not just in blue states. Marc Sternfield and Michael Bartiromo report in The Hill on America’s rattiest cities:

Orkin has released its 2023 list of the “rattiest cities” in the U.S., which ranks 50 of the nation’s busiest metro regions by “the number of new rodent treatments” performed over a period of 12 months. Specifically, Orkin studied new rodent treatments executed between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, at both residential and commercial properties.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Chicago was ranked as the No. 1 “rattiest” city for a ninth consecutive year.

Rounding out the top five “rattiest” cities were Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco — the usual suspects, as Orkin’s previous reports have suggested.

A complete list of the 50 “rattiest” cities can be found below, with plus (+) or minus (-) symbols indicating their change over last year’s list:

  1. Chicago
  2. Los Angeles (+1)
  3. New York (-1)
  4. Washington, D.C.
  5. San Francisco
  6. Philadelphia
  7. Baltimore
  8. Denver
  9. Detroit (+1)
  10. Cleveland-Akron (-1)
  11. Minneapolis-St. Paul
  12. Seattle
  13. Boston
  14. Atlanta
  15. Indianapolis
  16. Pittsburgh
  17. Hartford, Connecticut
  18. Columbus, Ohio (+3)
  19. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (+1)
  20. Houston (+10)
  21. Charlotte (+16)
  22. Dallas-Ft. Worth (+2)
  23. Raleigh-Durham (+8)
  24. Milwaukee (-6)
  25. Grand Rapids (-2)
  26. Portland, Oregon (-4)
  27. Norfolk-Portsmouth, Virginia (+1)
  28. San Diego (-9)
  29. Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia (+3)
  30. New Orleans (+8)
  31. Cincinnati (-6)
  32. Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina (+10)
  33. Sacramento (+7)
  34. Kansas City (-5)
  35. Nashville (-9)
  36. Tampa-St. Pete (+5)
  37. Orlando-Daytona Beach (+12)
  38. Buffalo (-5)
  39. St. Louis (-5)
  40. Phoenix (+5)
  41. Champaign, Illinois (-14)
  42. Albany-Troy, New York (-6)
  43. Flint, Michigan (-8)
  44. Burlington, Vermont-Plattsburgh, New York (+4)
  45. Albuquerque, New Mexico (+17)
  46. Rochester, New York (+5)
  47. South Bend, Indiana (-4)
  48. Syracuse, New York (-9)
  49. Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia (-2)
  50. Greensboro, North Carolina (+17)

Orkin added that fall and winter — specifically October through February — are when rodents most often make their way into residences, with an estimated 21 million seeking food and shelter during the colder months.

Action Line: If you live in one of America’s rattiest cities, it may be time to look for a better America. Start your search with Your Survival Guy’s 2023 Super States. Then, click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, and be one of the first to receive my updated list of Super States.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
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