Austin had a turbulent year. The city tried to reinvent itself. It didn’t go over particularly well. Then it tried to pass a sweeping plan to boost services — and increase taxes. That didn’t go over well either.
But there was some normalcy in the turbulent year of 2025: people complained to 311.
The system's operators field hundreds of thousands of calls and requests in its app every year and 2025 was no different.
As of Dec. 10, the city's 311 service received 285,185 requests,according the city's online data portal.
311 is a catch-all for city requests, but in recent years, the service has functioned as a clearing house for non-emergency calls to police as the Austin Police Department struggles to hire more officers and staff to handle calls. Those calls are not included in this dataset.
As for the more mundane requests, residents' complaints range from everything from potholes to dead animals. One of the most common requests: trash pickup.
About a quarter of all calls to 311 in 2025 were for garbage-related issues — 67,191, all told — and those calls contain multitudes.
- 23,753 people requested trash pickup.
- 12,473 people requested bulk pickup.
- 11,684 people requested their recycling be picked up.
- 13,219 people requested Austin Resource Recovery cart away their compost.
- 6,242 people asked the city trash crews to haul away a dead animal.
Noise complaints are pretty broad in category. The city fielded 22,307 complaints in 2025. Those could include car alarms, a loud party next door or other irksome disturbances. But there is a specific complaint for music venues near residential areas. In 2025, 2,278 people complained about loud music from a venue, club or bar.
Coyotes were out in 2025, but less so than in 2024. Nearly 400 people reported spotting a coyote in 2025, compared to 644 in the previous year.
Just over 18,000 people complained about illegal parking in 2025.
311 received 9,508 calls to tow a car in 2025.
City staff fielded 23,684 calls for animal protection services this year. That could include anything from a loose dog to concerns over a downed bird.
In 2025, 2,153 people complained to 311 about animal bites, a slight increase over the previous year.
Austin adopted new rules for short-term rentals this year, but the effect of those new regulations is yet to be seen. In 2025, 881 people complained to 311 about short-term rentals. That's down from 2024, which saw 1,009 complaints from Austin neighbors.
Austinites have thoughts about scooters. All told, 1,488 people complained to 311 about the rentable scooters and bikes.
Complaints about potholes dipped slightly in 2025. Austinites reached out to the city 2,896 times about potholes on city roads, a drop of roughly 300 compared to 2024.
