The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Tennessee For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Tennessee For 2022

Memphis is Tennessee's 2nd biggest city, but in terms of crime, it takes the #1 spot. The violent crime rate is especially bad in Memphis, outstripping the national average by over 400% and ranking as the highest in the state.

Elvis Presley is probably rolling over in his grave at the state of things in Memphis. The city had 289 murders in 2020, the second highest murder rate statewide. Overall, residents had a 1 in 42 chance of being the victim of a property crime.

And the bad news keeps on coming -- Memphis had the second highest burglary rate in Tennessee and experienced 4,442 car thefts over 2020. Overall, the city averaged over ten property crimes per day.

Not to mention that Memphis had the highest rate of arson cases on this list by a very wide margin, averaging almost one per day.

Dyersburg motto is the Gateway to Everywhere, but unfortunately, that includes being the gateway to staggeringly high crime rates.

It's a good idea to triple check that you've locked your doors if you're heading to one of Dyersburg city parks, seeing as the city had the highest burglary rates in Tennessee.

And it's not just property crime going down in Dyersburg, either. The city had the fifth highest violent crime rate in the state, including the 29th highest murder rate.

Chattanooga might look like a peaceful city from the vistas afforded at Lookout Mountain, but down on the streets, crime is all too common.

Violent crime is pretty bad across the board, with Chattanooga reporting 182 rapes and 33 murders in 2020, the fourth highest and fourth highest rates statewide, respectively.

You'll also want to make sure you lock your car doors wherever you go in Chattanooga because with 2,101 car thefts recorded over the year, stolen cars are more common here than in the bigger cities of Memphis and Nashville.

We're moving away from the western part of the state to Tennessee's far east to reach Newport. In terms of property crime, it's hard to out-do Newport. Residents of Newport had a 1 in 13 chance of having their belongings stolen or damaged in 2020, the highest rate in Tennessee.

That includes more than one car theft per week, on average. We just hope nobody steals a racecar from the Newport Speedway, because they might be hard to catch.

The prevalence of property crime in Newport is such that the city actually has the highest overall crime rate in Tennessee -- more than three times higher than the national average.

Covington is a city of 8,818 located in western Tennessee that struggles with both high property and violent crime rates.

We don't envy the Covington Police Department, who had to handle 130 violent crimes and 451 property crimes over 2020.

On the bright side, there were no murders in Covington over the year. On the not-so-bright side, a car was robbed, and a home was broken into more than once per week, on average.

The county seat of McMinn County in eastern Tennessee, Athens' nickname of "The Friendly City" is belied by the crime situation.

Folks in Athens faced a 1 in 17 shot being the victim of a property crime in 2020, representing the fourth highest rate in Tennessee.

In fact, Athens' property crime rate is more than three times higher than the national average. We just hope nobody's planning a heist on the local Living Heritage Museum.

On the bright side, Athens is the least violent place on this list and didn't have a single murder in 2020.

Located along the east side of the Tennessee River, Savanna went down 1 spots on this list from last year, so progress is being made on the crime front.

However, overall crime and property crime still rank as the eighth highest in the state. That includes the fifth highest burglary rate.

While Savannah has the Horse Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, humans of Savannah are on their own for finding sanctuary. Which can be tough in a city with the tenth highest rate of violent crime in Tennessee.

Situated about 45 minutes northeast of Chattanooga, Cleveland ranks as Tennessee's eighth most dangerous city.

You'll want to keep a close eye on your belongings when you're out for a hike at Red Clay State Historic Park, because Cleveland reported 1,734 larcenies in 2020. There was also one burglary each day and a car theft every other day, on average.

Additionally, Cleveland had 454 violent crimes over the year.

A part of the Memphis metro area, Millington ranks as the ninth least safe in Tennessee.

The violent crime rate is above average as a whole, but a 64th highest place ranking in murder rate is the really spooky part about Millington. Be sure to buddy up for walks in Meeman-Shelby Forest, or you might become the protagonist of a horror movie.

Regardless of where you're going, lock your doors in Millington because the city had the third highest burglary rate in Tennessee in 2020.

Union City has its intellectual side. The community provides the home of Discovery Park of America, a wide-ranging museum, with exhibits as diverse as dinosaurs and NASCAR. The area also has its natural wonders. Located in a rural part of northwest Tennessee, a short drive will take you to Reelfoot Lake State Park.

However, not everything in town revolves around museum exhibits and strolls by a lake. There's a dark side as well. Union City represents the number 10 most dangerous spot in Tennessee, including a frighteningly high rate of sexual assaults.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Tennessee FAQs

Is Tennessee a dangerous state?

Yes, Tennessee is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #5 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in tennessee ranks third highest in the United States -- 73.47% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Volunteer State ranks tenth highest in the United States -- 27.3% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is Nashville, TN a dangerous city?

Yes, Nashville is a dangerous city. Nashville ranks as the #38 most dangerous out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Nashville might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Poplar Creek Estates is the safest in Nashville, while Heron Walk is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Nashville ranks 28th highest in America -- 102.78% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 47th highest in the United States -- 51.04% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is 'dangerous'. Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.