Original data study · updated October 2026
The US Cities With the Most Code-Enforcement Activity
We aggregate public code-enforcement violations from US municipal open-data portals. Here are the cities with the most cited properties in our dataset, ranked by volume of open and recent violations.
| # | City | Records | Top trade needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles, CA | 29,709+ | junk removal |
| 2 | New York, NY | 18,632+ | cleaning |
| 3 | Chicago, IL | 14,306+ | junk removal |
| 4 | San Diego, CA | 6,763+ | concrete |
| 5 | Louisville, KY | 5,850+ | landscaping |
| 6 | Charlotte, NC | 5,214+ | landscaping |
| 7 | Cincinnati, OH | 4,652+ | landscaping |
| 8 | Nashville, TN | 3,847+ | landscaping |
| 9 | Austin, TX | 3,776+ | general |
| 10 | Detroit, MI | 2,638+ | junk removal |
| 11 | Atlanta, GA | 2,605+ | junk removal |
| 12 | Miami, FL | 2,560+ | landscaping |
| 13 | Seattle, WA | 2,510+ | landscaping |
| 14 | San Francisco, CA | 2,436+ | cleaning |
| 15 | Cleveland, OH | 1,094+ | general |
| 16 | Norfolk, VA | 912+ | landscaping |
| 17 | New Orleans, LA | 721+ | landscaping |
| 18 | Long Beach, CA | 414+ | general |
| 19 | Kansas City, MO | 347+ | landscaping |
| 20 | Hartford, CT | 228+ | cleaning |
| 21 | Dorchester, MA | 68+ | general |
| 22 | Las Vegas, NV | 27+ | cleaning |
| 23 | Mattapan, MA | 23+ | general |
| 24 | Hyde Park, MA | 20+ | general |
What are US homeowners cited for most?
Across every city we track, these are the most common types of work homeowners are being ordered to do — it's more overgrown yards, junk, and pests than collapsing roofs.
Methodology
Counts reflect public code-enforcement violations — administrative hearing and fine dockets, failed inspections, and property-maintenance citations — published by each city's open-data portal, and are refreshed daily. “Top trade needed” is derived from the violation text (e.g. junk/debris, overgrowth, exterior-paint citations). Coverage expands as more municipal feeds are added, so rankings shift over time.
Cite this study
Free to cite and share with a link to this page. Download the full dataset (CSV) ↓
Suggested citation:
BellAveGo, "The US Cities With the Most Code-Enforcement Activity (2026)." https://www.bellavego.com/code-violations-by-city
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