Chicago, long infested with crime and poverty, keeps crawling ahead of its rivals to remain the champion of one more side effect of its decline.
Pest control company Orkin said that the deep-blue Democrat-dominated city is top in the nation in bed bugs for the fifth consecutive year.
Orkin bases its list on data from metro areas where the company has been called in to provide bed bug treatments between May 15, 2024, and May 14, 2025. Both residential and commercial calls are counted.
Although Chicago remains on top, Orkin noted that Hartford, Connecticut, crawled onto its list of the top 50 metro areas in America for the first time, debuting at number 35, up 48 places from 2024.
Orkin just crowned Chicago, Illinois the Bed Bug Capital of America for the 5th straight year.
Crime in the streets—bed bugs in the sheets.
What a time to be alive in the Windy City. pic.twitter.com/AfR9WgDgG9
— Midwest Millennial (@MillennialVerse) July 1, 2025
Peoria, Illinois, which did not make the top 50 list last year, joined the itchy 50 at number 33.
Following Chicago, the rest of the top 10, in order, included: Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit; Los Angeles; Indianapolis, Indiana; Washington, D.C.; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Champaign, Illinois; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Metro areas making double-digit increases in the ranking included Cedar Rapids, Iowa, up 19 places to come in in 20th place; Omaha, Nebraska, which rose 10 places to 26th; South Bend, Indiana, which rose 10 places to 27th; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which rose 14 places to come in at 34th; Boston, which rose 10 spots to be 47th; and San Diego, which rose 10 spots to be 49th.
Would you move to Chicago for a million dollars?
Some places dropped on the list, notably New York City, which fell 13 places to be 15th; Philadelphia, which dropped 22 places to be 25th; and Charlotte, North Carolina, which dropped 23 places to be 32nd.
Orkin also offered tips to check for bed bugs when traveling.
The first step is to look for the brown, small, flat, oval-shaped insects that are the size of an apple seed. Stains on fabrics or shed exoskeletons could be signs bed bugs leave behind. The search should include lifting sheets, curtains, and cushions.
Keeping luggage on racks away from a bed can minimize the presence of tiny travelers coming home with you, as can giving the luggage a closing inspection while packing and then placing everything that can be put into a dryer on high heat when you get home.
“Bed bugs are some of the most resilient pests in the world, making them extremely difficult to control if brought into a home or hotel,” Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist, said. “As summer travel picks up, it is critical that people know the best ways to identify, prevent and control these pests.”
Two California cities have made it onto a list no city wants to be on — the top 10 most bed bug-infested cities in the U.S. — while three other metro areas in the state ranked in the study … Here’s how to get rid of bed bugs at home, according … https://t.co/FgTnE6yvP1 pic.twitter.com/FEe0zF54av
— Keir Jones, State Farm Agent (@KeirJonesAgency) June 28, 2025
“What makes bed bugs especially challenging is their growing resistance to certain treatments, which is why early detection and proactive prevention are so critical,” he said.
For those wanting a second opinion, Orkin competitor Terminix also put out a most-infested list covering 50 U.S. metro areas.
That list’s top 10, in order, goes: Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland-Akron (Canton), Los Angeles, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Houston, Washington, D.C. (Hagerstown), San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, and Indianapolis.
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