Philly Is Number 1... In Rat And Mouse Infestation

Philadelphia has lots of things to be proud of. But a new report may give Philadelphians cause to be a bit... grossed out.

According to the American Housing Survey, Philadelphia ranked number 1 for people who reported seeing at least signs of mice or rats.

The survey is a review conducted every two years by the U.S. Census Bureau that gives us the closest idea of just how pervasive pests in homes are.

A total of 2,216.10 Philadelphians responded to the survey. Of that number, 392.4 respondents reported seeing at least signs of mice or rats. That's 17.71 percent of respondents.

Philly outshines Boston (16.86 percent), New York (15.36 percent), and Washington D.C. (13.08 percent) in people reporting signs of mice or rates.

In better news, Philly came in 13th for respondents who evidence of cockroaches with 163.9 of the 2,216.10 respondents seeing signs of roaches. That's just 7.4 percent.

The full data from 2015's survey isn't available yet, but statistics from 25 major metropolitan areas were just released. They include the 15largest areas and 10 other metros.

Respondents were asked if they had seen evidence of a rat, mouse or cockroach in their home in the last 12 months or since they had moved in.

Like any survey, the data shouldn't be taken as any sort of empirical evidence. Rat or roach populations are difficult to estimate across a large area. These numbers show only how many respondents said they had or hadn't seen one of these critters in their home.

Don't tell the infamous NYC pizza rat his city came in third, though.

Image via Shutterstock