SafeWise is proud to welcome Tennessee to our collection of Safest Cities profiles. This year is the first time we’ve profiled the Volunteer State’s safest cities, and we’re excited to give these safety-conscious communities the kudos they deserve.
Overall, Tennessee ranks forty-fifth for violent crime and thirty-ninth for property crime among the forty-eight states we evaluated for safest cities. However, the state is well represented by the twenty cities listed below, which all come in well under both state and national averages.
Oak Ridge claims our first-ever top spot as the safest city in Tennessee. This city reported a total of seven crimes, according to the most current crime data from the FBI—and only two were violent offenses. Oak Ridge’s success is partly due to its Not in Our City program, which has established eight initiatives to improve community safety since its implementation in 2011. The program focuses on things like neighborhood watch programs and cleaning up neglected homes and neighborhoods.
Among the cities on our list, two had no incidents of violent crime, thirteen had fewer than ten incidents, and 95% reported fifty or fewer violent crimes in 2015. There were only two counts of murder reported across all twenty cities, and half of the cities reported no incidents of either rape or murder.
Property crime was also rare in Tennessee’s safest cities. Sixteen cities reported fewer than 100 total property crimes, while seventeen kept burglaries below forty-seven incidents. Arson was entirely nonexistent in fifteen of the cities.
For the first time, you can find out where your Tennessee city falls when it comes to outstanding public safety. Read the list and be sure to let your friends and family know if your city was honored this year. But if you don’t see your hometown below, there’s no reason to despair. We have a comprehensive National Safety Directory that has information about crime prevention and disaster preparation, as well as general safety resources to help you make a difference in your Tennessee community.
How We Chose the Safest Cities in Tennessee
To identify the twenty safest cities in Tennessee, we reviewed the 2015 FBI crime report statistics and population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 3,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.
From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.
1. Oak Ridge
Violent Crimes per 1,000: o.o7
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.17
2. Signal Mountain
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.85
3. Coopertown
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.91
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.53
4. Brentwood
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.40
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.74
5. Millersville
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.53
Property Crimes per 1,000: 7.90
6. Mount Carmel
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.37
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.44
7. Nolensville
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.07
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.06
8. Loudon
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.21
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.01
9. Church Hill
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.18
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.66
10. Medina
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.20
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.76
11. Spring Hill
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.40
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.66
12. Tiptonville
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.83
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.30
13. Belle Meade
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.16
14. Oakland
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.67
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.14
15. Whiteville
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.55
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.48
16. Pleasant View
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.70
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.38
17. Greenbrier
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 3.26
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.82
18. Germantown
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.02
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.13
19. Erwin
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 3.66
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.16
20. Gallatin
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 3.08
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.68
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