Top 20 Most Clogged U.S. Cities

From clogged sinks to overflowing toilets, Brown Friday–the day following Thanksgiving– is consistently among the plumbing industry’s busiest times of the year.

Yelp data revealed that searches for “emergency plumbing” surged 65% during the 2023 Brown Friday period, when comparing searches from the two weeks before Thanksgiving Day to those on Thanksgiving Day and the two weeks after in 2023. Searches for “24-hour plumbers” were higher on Thanksgiving Day than any other day in November 2023.

Los Angeles topped the list as the clogged capital of the U.S. The city saw a 73% increase in plumbing searches during the Brown Friday time frame, significantly outpacing any other city on the list. Searches rose sharply in Los Angeles, particularly for services like “plumbing repair” (up 400%), “affordable plumbing” (up 300%), “drain cleaning services” (up 175%), and “emergency plumbing” (up 100%).

Rounding out the top five cities were Miami (up 37%); Nashville (up 26%); Sacramento, California (up 24%); and Baltimore (up 23%).

Some cities had more urgent plumbing needs than others, as Yelp regional data shows notable upticks in searches for 24-hour plumbing services. While New York City didn’t break the top clogged cities list, searches specifically for “24 hour plumber” rose by 64% during Brown Friday.