Tennessee’s Safest Cities of 2025

See crime rates for the safest cities.

According to our most recent State of Safety report, Tennesseans worry more about crime and safety on a daily basis than most Americans, and they tend to think crime is on the rise. This doesn't match Tennessee residents' personal experiences with crime, which have decreased across the board year over year. 

Meanwhile, 16 out of 20 of this year's safest cities saw a year-over-year decrease in at least one type of crime.  

Tennesseans experienced less property crime and package theft year-over-year, and they're less likely to experience both crimes than the average American. However, they worry about property crime at a higher rate than most people in the country. Package theft, on the other hand, isn't as concerning for Tennesseans these days. 

• 24% said they experienced a property crime in the 8 months prior to our survey, down from 27% the year before (US 27%). 
• Neighbors in Mississippi (21%), Georgia (20%), and North Carolina (17%) were among those less likely to experience property crime than Tennesseans. 
• Concern about property crime rose from 59% to 62% year over year.
• Package theft experiences decreased from 40% to 32% year over year (US 37%).
• Concern about package theft fell from 62% to 52% (US 52%). 
• Tennesseans are the ninth least likely to experience package theft nationwide. 
• Tennessee residents prefer to protect their property with security cameras (37%), guard dogs (36%), and security systems (30%). 

We didn't have enough viable data to accurately calculate statewide crime rates this year, but if the safest cities are any indication, violent crime may be decreasing throughout The Volunteer State. We can also look at the results of our annual State of Safety survey to get a sense of recent crime trends in Tennessee.  

More than half (51%) of Tennessee residents say they feel safe in their state, which is up from 38% the year before. That confidence level is also higher than the nationwide average of 48%. Tennesseans reported year-over-year decreases in all types of crime experiences, and they were less likely to increase their security and safety measures compared to the year before. 

Despite those positive trends, 71% said they believe crime is increasing. Only residents in Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina are more likely to believe crime is increasing (72%). For Tennesseans, that represents a year-over-year increase of 2 percentage points. 

Meanwhile, Tennessee residents worry about crime at or above the national averages, and 58% said they experience a high level of overall concern for their safety and security on a daily basis. That's the third-highest level of concern in the nation, topped only by California (64%) and Alabama (60%).

Find safety and security resources in Tennessee.

Tennesseans reported fewer personal experiences with violent crime on our latest survey compared to the year before. They're among those least likely to experience violent crime nationwide, and they're less likely to experience violent crime than residents in neighboring states. Despite this hopeful trend, Tennesseans continue to worry about violent crime more than the average American.

• 10% said they experienced a violent crime in the 8 months prior to our survey, down from 17% the year before (US 14%).
• Concern about violent crime rose from 62% to 65% (US 59%). 
• 34% say they use some form of personal protection (US 35%).
• Tennessee residents prefer to protect themselves with firearms (16%), pocket knives (13%), and stun guns (9%). 
• Tennesseans tie with New Hampshirites for the lowest use of pepper spray nationwide (8%).

• The percentage of Tennesseans who personally experienced gun violence in the 8 months prior to our survey fell by 50% year over year, from 14% to 7% (US 11%). 
• Concern about gun violence rose from 54% to 61% year over year (US 57%).
• Tennessee experienced 18 mass shootings in 2024, down from 21 the previous year. 

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 87 cities met the criteria for ranking this year. 
• After being knocked out of the top spot last year, Nolensville is Tennessee's safest city once again. 
• Signal Mountain reported no violent crimes and no motor vehicle thefts. 
• This year's safest cities were more likely to have seen a year-over-year decrease in violent crime than in property crime.
• Portland was the only city that saw declines in property crime and violent crime for 2 years in a row.
• Nolensville, Millersville, Greenbrier, and LaFollette saw year-over-year decreases in violent crime and property crime.
• Jonesborough's property crime rate decreased by 36% year over year.

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