Safest Cities in Tennessee

In this analysis, AdvisorSmith examined the safest cities and communities in the state of Tennessee, using the most recent data from the FBI. This data set was released in the fall of 2019, and contains information about crimes reported in 2018. Crimes reported in this data set include property crime such as burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft, as well as violent crimes such as rape, robbery, assault, and murder. AdvisorSmith created a proprietary crime score which weights more serious crimes more heavily to determine the safest cities and towns in Tennessee.

This study divided cities and towns in Tennessee based upon their population. Cities and towns with under 10,000 residents were compared, and we labeled these communities towns. We labeled cities with between 10,000 and 100,000 residents as midsize cities, and the six cities in Tennessee with over 100,000 residents were compared as large cities. This study included six large cities, 48 midsize cities, and 168 towns.

Below are links to the safest towns, midsize, and large cities in the state of Tennessee:

• Safest Large Cities in Tennessee
• Safest Midsize Cities in Tennessee
• Safest Towns in Tennessee

Safest Large Cities in Tennessee

Tennessee is host to six large cities with populations that exceed 100,000. The average crime score among large cities was 133, and the range was between 87.7 and 224.2.

Of these cities, Murfreesboro, which is located southeast of the city of Nashville, was the safest large city in the state. The city, which was once host to the capital of the state, is in the geographic center of the state. The city hosts Middle Tennessee State University, and is a city with a rich history.

Memphis, with about 2.5 times the crime of Murfreesboro based on AdvisorSmith’s crime score, is the large city in Tennessee with the most crime. Located in the southwest corner of the state along the Mississippi River and bordering Arkansas and Mississippi, Memphis is a major center for transportation and logistics, hosting FedEx’s air cargo hub, as well as a major river port. The city is also famous for its blues music and barbecue.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Murfreesboro	4.4	31.5	87.7
2	Clarksville	6.9	29	90.4
3	Knoxville	8.1	46.9	116.6
4	Nashville	11.2	40.4	133.0
5	Chattanooga	10.5	60.8	145.3
6	Memphis	19.6	64.2	224.2

Safest Midsize Cities in Tennessee

Cities with populations of 10,000 through 100,000 residents are listed in the table below, representing the safest midsize cities in the state of Tennessee. There were 48 midsized cities included in the list of midsize cities. For midsize cities, the average crime score was 84, with the crime score ranging from a low of 16.6 to a high of 165.2.

The safest midsize city in Tennessee was Brentwood, TN. This suburb of Nashville is located directly south of the city. With a population of over 42,000, Brentwood is a highly educated city with very high median household incomes and is home to numerous professional athletes and musicians.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Brentwood	0.8	9.5	16.6
2	Collegedale	0.7	14.9	23.3
3	Germantown	0.8	15.5	26.1
4	Franklin	1.5	12.2	27.2
5	Spring Hill	1.4	15	32.1
6	Collierville	1.6	17.2	34.7
7	Hendersonville	2	15.7	34.8
8	Soddy-Daisy	1.4	22.9	36.5
9	Mount Juliet	2	17.3	37.0
10	Maryville	1.7	16.6	39.0
11	Gallatin	3.2	14.1	45.7
12	Portland	2.8	17.7	47.6
13	Bartlett	3.2	19	50.1
14	Martin	2.7	23.7	51.1
15	Smyrna	3.4	26.3	57.4
16	La Vergne	4.4	22.8	61.2
17	Red Bank	4.4	25.4	62.9
18	Paris	4.5	28.4	63.9
19	Johnson City	4.2	40.4	79.4
20	East Ridge	4.7	35.6	80.1
21	Oak Ridge	6.4	28.3	80.5
22	Lewisburg	6.8	18.6	81.5
23	Cookeville	4.3	42.1	85.1
24	Lebanon	5.7	28.3	85.7
25	Bristol	5.7	31.9	86.1
26	Tullahoma	6	34.3	91.1
27	Greeneville	4.8	42.8	94.7
28	Mcminnville	6.3	36.1	96.7
29	Clinton	5.5	43.6	98.7
30	Manchester	5.9	37.4	98.9
31	Columbia	6.3	32.2	99.2
32	Shelbyville	7.1	30.5	99.7
33	Sevierville	5.4	49.1	102.4
34	Elizabethton	4.5	49.2	102.8
35	Springfield	8.6	31.5	110.6
36	Goodlettsville	7.3	49.8	112.3
37	Lawrenceburg	6.2	51.7	113.4
38	Crossville	8.3	46.9	113.9
39	Alcoa	7.8	49.3	121.6
40	Morristown	8.2	46.6	127.7
41	Kingsport	8	55.5	128.3
42	Union City	6.3	58	130.6
43	Dickson	8.5	48.6	132.7
44	Cleveland	9.2	56	138.6
45	Millington	9.2	53.6	138.8
46	Jackson	10.1	43	138.8
47	Athens	8.7	77.1	164.5
48	Dyersburg	12.5	57.7	165.2

Safest Towns in Tennessee

Below, we list the safest towns in Tennessee, based upon the amount of violent and property crimes committed in the city. Included in this list are cities and towns in Tennessee with 10,000 or fewer residents, and we include 168 towns and small cities in this analysis. The average crime score in Tennessee towns was 63, but the range was wide, with the safest town’s score being 8.8, and the highest crime score being 318.7.

Church Hill was named as the safest town in Tennessee. This town is located in the Northeast part of the state along the Holston River, near the border of Kentucky.

Rank	Town	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Church Hill	0.5	2.7	8.8
2	Coopertown	0.2	5.5	9.2
3	Clifton	0	3	9.5
4	Signal Mountain	0.7	4.7	11.4
5	Surgoinsville	0	9	13.6
6	Belle Meade	0.3	8.6	13.6
7	Spencer	0	8.5	13.8
8	Bean Station	0.6	7.4	15.5
9	Oakland	0.4	10.6	15.5
10	Loudon	0.7	8.1	15.6
11	Erin	0	11.8	16.3
12	Blaine	0	9.6	17.7
13	Brighton	0.7	6.9	18.4
14	Pleasant View	0.7	11	19.8
15	Plainview	0.5	8.1	19.8
16	Atoka	1	8.7	20.5
17	Decaturville	0	6.9	20.8
18	Watertown	0.7	7.8	20.8
19	New Market	0.7	10.3	21
20	Huntingdon	0.3	16.8	21.5
21	Hollow Rock	0	13.4	22.3
22	Ridgetop	1	4.8	23.9
23	Friendship	0	7.4	24.3
24	Tiptonville	1.9	7.4	24.4
25	Gleason	1.5	10.3	24.6
26	Rutledge	0.7	16.9	24.9
27	Mount Carmel	1.5	11	25.3
28	Whiteville	3.1	4.2	26.2
29	Trezevant	1.2	10.7	26.8
30	New Johnsonville	0.5	16.8	27.7
31	Sneedville	0	15.7	28
32	Waynesboro	2.2	6	28
33	Dresden	1.7	11.7	28.3
34	Dover	0.7	11.6	29.1
35	South Pittsburg	1.6	13.2	29.4
36	Halls	2.4	7.1	30.2
37	Bruceton	2.1	12.8	31.1
38	Cornersville	2.4	6.4	31.1
39	Crump	2.1	6.8	31.2
40	Nolensville	2.2	14.6	32.9
41	Puryear	1.5	9	33.4
42	Jonesborough	2.2	10.5	34.3
43	Gordonsville	2.5	5.8	34.7
44	Troy	1.6	10.2	35
45	Mason	1.9	4.5	35.1
46	Medina	2.6	6.5	35.2
47	Mckenzie	1.6	14.7	35.9
48	Fairview	1.8	15.4	37.2
49	Ardmore	0	29.1	37.3
50	Rossville	1.1	15.7	39
51	Jellico	2.3	18.7	39.1
52	Mountain City	1.7	17.1	39.2
53	Greenfield	1.9	14.5	39.2
54	Henry	0	19	39.8
55	Kingston	2.9	10.9	39.9
56	Lafayette	1.9	20.5	40.6
57	Collinwood	1.1	20.1	41
58	Adamsville	1.9	17.6	41.3
59	White Pine	2.6	21	41.5
60	Waverly	2.2	19.1	41.8
61	Niota	1.4	8.3	42.7
62	White Bluff	4.2	11.3	43.3
63	Baxter	0.7	20	43.5
64	Mcewen	2.3	22.1	44.1
65	Greenbrier	3.5	9.9	44.4
66	Parsons	3.5	15.1	44.5
67	Dayton	1.9	24.4	44.5
68	Cowan	2.4	10.9	45
69	Woodbury	4.6	10.7	45.1
70	Camden	1.4	31.1	45.1
71	Dandridge	1	24.5	45.6
72	Gates	1.6	15.9	45.7
73	Centerville	3.9	20	48.1
74	Decatur	2.5	22.7	48.5
75	Mount Pleasant	3.9	14.2	48.5
76	Millersville	4.5	14.3	48.8
77	Bradford	4.1	5.1	49.3
78	Loretto	2.8	27.7	52
79	Norris	3.7	9.8	52
80	Erwin	2.9	12.5	52.2
81	Jacksboro	1.6	36.5	52.7
82	Livingston	3.5	17.9	53
83	Caryville	3.7	18.6	53.6
84	Scotts Hill	3.3	8.2	54.4
85	Monterey	3.8	22.3	55
86	Bluff City	4.8	16.9	55.4
87	Benton	2.3	21.9	55.4
88	Henderson	4.3	18.3	56
89	Westmoreland	6.5	4.7	56.3
90	Maynardville	3.4	20.4	57.5
91	Alexandria	4	11	57.8
92	Harriman	2.3	26.9	58.1
93	Newbern	3.9	22.2	58.8
94	Graysville	4.5	20	59.2
95	Alamo	3.9	19.8	59.4
96	Etowah	4.9	15	59.8
97	Celina	2.7	24	60.4
98	Carthage	2.7	31.4	61.1
99	Bells	5.2	12.9	61.8
100	Big Sandy	1.9	19.3	63
101	Ridgely	3.6	18.1	63.2
102	Dyer	5	20.5	64.3
103	South Carthage	5.2	22.9	64.4
104	Smithville	3.8	28.4	64.4
105	Oliver Springs	2.6	33.3	64.5
106	Jasper	5.1	15.7	64.5
107	Algood	2.9	33.9	65.1
108	Munford	4.4	18.7	65.2
109	Spring City	3.8	24.8	65.2
110	Pikeville	3.7	27.1	67.8
111	Jefferson City	2.9	33.6	67.9
112	New Tazewell	2.6	41	69
113	Whitwell	5.9	22.9	69.2
114	Lenoir City	2.8	24.9	69.8
115	Tracy City	2.2	30.8	71
116	Jamestown	1.5	48.6	71.6
117	Trimble	6.5	9.8	71.7
118	Tazewell	4.4	29.9	72
119	Sparta	2.6	41.4	72.9
120	Kenton	2.9	42.3	75.2
121	Rutherford	8.4	8.4	76
122	Ethridge	4.1	27	77.5
123	Red Boiling Springs	7.8	11.3	80.1
124	Estill Springs	8	15.9	80.5
125	Somerville	7.5	17.1	80.9
126	Oneida	4.9	39.7	81.4
127	Milan	6.3	24.9	83.1
128	Trenton	6.2	23.5	83.8
129	Ashland City	2.8	54.7	84.5
130	Decherd	3.4	39.4	88.8
131	Wartburg	8.9	24.5	89.9
132	Monteagle	8.5	25.5	90.5
133	Winchester	6.3	34.2	90.9
134	Toone	5.9	5.9	91.3
135	White House	5.7	32	91.7
136	Englewood	7.2	26.4	93.5
137	Baileyton	2.3	36.3	93.7
138	South Fulton	9.1	18.6	94.5
139	Chapel Hill	6	21.8	96
140	Gallaway	7.7	12.3	96.1
141	Humboldt	5.7	35.8	96.6
142	Vonore	6.6	38.9	96.9
143	La Follette	4	46.1	97.4
144	Madisonville	4.6	45.9	98.9
145	Hohenwald	7.9	35.7	101.9
146	Maury City	7.5	20.9	102.2
147	Bolivar	10.3	28.3	104
148	Rogersville	5.4	52.8	105.1
149	Dunlap	6.7	46.8	107.4
150	Rocky Top	6.9	48.2	108.9
151	Lexington	5.9	40.3	109.7
152	Selmer	9	34	111.6
153	Gatlinburg	3.8	55.6	111.6
154	Ripley	8.8	38.9	112.2
155	Rockwood	6.6	60.2	118.3
156	Fayetteville	8.3	36.2	122.2
157	Sweetwater	9	52.3	122.3
158	Pulaski	7.7	52.8	122.4
159	Kimball	6.4	75.1	125.9
160	Grand Junction	7.5	15.1	129.4
161	Brownsville	11.4	40.6	144.3
162	Tellico Plains	15.9	27.5	155.8
163	Pigeon Forge	8.7	77.3	165.8
164	Townsend	13.5	38.1	170.4
165	Covington	14.6	57.3	174.9
166	Newport	9.9	82.6	176.2
167	Savannah	11.6	71.6	184.4
168	Berry Hill	15.3	196.6	318.7

Methodology

In this study, we determined the safest cities in the state of Tennessee. This research was based upon data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Data Set from Return A. We used city-level data from this report, which includes monthly reported crime data for violent crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, and assault, as well as property crimes including burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

We calculated the crime rates for towns, midsize cities, and large cities in Tennessee. We defined towns as places with populations under 10,000 residents, midsize cities as places with between 10,000, and 100,000 residents, and large cities being those with over 100,000 residents.

We excluded cities from this study if they provided fewer than six months of crime reporting data in order to avoid skewing the analysis with incomplete crime data. Cities that provided less than 12 months of data had their crimes rates proportionally scaled to represent a full year.

We calculated the number of violent and property crimes for each town and city per 1,000 residents. Additionally, we also calculated a proprietary crime score that applied a multiplier to serious forms of crime such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault. The adjusted value of these crimes was added to the number of property crimes in order to calculate each town or city’s crime score. Lower scores indicate lower levels of reported crimes in a city, and the towns and cities were ranked within their population cohorts in order to determine the safest cities in Tennessee.

Sources

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A, 2018