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Americans have plenty of headaches to deal with in their daily lives, including pests. Rats are some of the most notorious pests invading both homes and businesses. They can cost people money by damaging structures, or trigger health issues by carrying disease or leaving behind droppings.
That's why 24/7 Wall St. revealed their list of America's worst cities for rats. Four Florida cities appeared on the list, and the highest-ranking one broke into the Top 10: Miami.
The Magic City ranked at No. 8 while placing pretty low when it came to rat control in particular. The other Florida cities mentioned include Tampa (No. 30), Hollywood (No. 33), and Fort Lauderdale (No. 39).
These are the Top 10 worst cities for rats, according to the study:
- New York, New York
- Los Angeles, California
- Jersey City, New Jersey
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Houston, Texas
- Newark, New Jersey
- San Francisco, California
- Miami, Florida
- Chicago, Illinois
- Detroit, Michigan
Analysts also revealed how they went about determining these rankings:
"To compile a list of the worst American cities 24/7 Tempo reviewed a report on the subject by Pest Gnome, a site connecting users with pest-control experts. Drawing on sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and others, the site gathered data on population density, dirtiness, Google searches for rat-related words over the previous 12 months, number of 'rat bait' sources (restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores), and number of exterminators for the 500 largest U.S. cities. Metrics were differently weighted to arrive at a composite score for the 152 cities for which sufficient data was available. The higher the score, the more vulnerable a city is to rat infestation."