Tennessee: The Best and Worst Cities for Crime

Tennessee ranks in the top 10 states for violent crime, and Memphis has become one of the nation’s murder capitals.
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Derek Prall
July 22, 2024 Derek Prall Derek Prall , Home Security Expert | July 22, 2024
Statewide Crime Trends Property Crime Violent Crime Our Data

Tennessee is the 15th most populous U.S. state, but it has a violent crime rate that places it in the top 10 most dangerous states to live. Memphis has one of the highest violent crime rates in the entire nation.

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Many famous musicians have launched world-shaking careers from Nashville, and it’s an increasingly popular city for newcomers from both coasts and the northern states. But the Nashville metropolitan area’s violent crime rate of 622 per 100,000 residents annually is higher than the national average.

Tennessee is a good place to visit and move for a career and to raise a family, but residents in areas with higher crime may find it necessary to take extra safety precautions for their personal and home security.

Below are the most recent statistics for crime in Tennessee cities, according to the National Uniform Crime data report by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Property Crime in Tennessee

The property crime rate in Tennessee is 2,302 per 100,000 people annually, which is 18 percent higher than the national average. That ranks the Volunteer State 13th nationally for property crime.

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The least safe city in Tennessee for property crime is Memphis (with a rate of 7,166 per 100,000), followed by Newport and Athens. The safest cities in Tennessee for property crime are Spencer, Westmoreland, and New Market.

Violent Crime in Tennessee

The violent crime rate in Tennessee is 622 per 100,000 residents annually, which is 63% higher than the national average. That ranks Tennessee fifth nationally for violent crime.

tennessee-violent crime ratesThe murder and non-negligent homicide rate is nine per 100,000, while the rate of rape is 38, robbery is 67, and aggravated assault is 508.

The least safe cities in Tennessee for violent crimes are Memphis (2,421 per 100,000 residents annually), Ripley (2,033), and Bolivar (1,911). The city with the lowest violent crime rate is Signal Mountain, a peaceful community atop a mountain ridge surrounded by lakes.

Our Data

Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area. City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State and City. The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.

Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from data released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. Those variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Please note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.

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