Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Tennessee?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in Tennessee.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Volunteer State for 2023:
- Memphis
- Springfield
- Knoxville
- Chattanooga
- Dyersburg
- Millington
- Jackson
- Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
- Ripley
- Humboldt
What city has the highest murder rate in Tennessee? The city with the highest murder rate in Tennessee is Memphis with 47.1 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Tennessee with highest number of murders? The city in Tennessee with the highest number of murders is Memphis with 306 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Tennessee ranked. There were ‘only’ 46 cities in Tennessee where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 49 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Volunteer State check out:
- Best Places To Live In Tennessee
- Cheapest Places To Live In Tennessee
- Most Dangerous Cities In Tennessee
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Tennessee For 2023
/10
Population: 649,444
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 306 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 47.1 (Most)
More on Memphis: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 17,374
Rank Last Year: 7
Murders: 5 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 28.8 (2nd Most)
More on Springfield: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 191,463
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 35 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.3 (9th Most)
More on Knoxville: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 186,222
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 33 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 17.7 (10th Most)
More on Chattanooga: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 15,981
Rank Last Year: 34
Murders: 4 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 25.0 (5th Most)
More on Dyersburg: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 10,621
Rank Last Year: 55
Murders: 3 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 28.2 (3rd Most)
More on Millington: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 67,462
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 11 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.3 (11th Most)
More on Jackson: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
8. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
Population: 690,553
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 99 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.3 (17th Most)
More on Metropolitan Nashville Police Department:
/10
Population: 7,552
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 2 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 26.5 (4th Most)
More on Ripley: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 8,092
Rank Last Year: 66
Murders: 2 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.7 (6th Most)
More on Humboldt: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Tennessee
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in Tennessee for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 46 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Tennessee and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Tennessee For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in Tennessee with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more Tennessee reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Tennessee
- Fastest Growing Cities In Tennessee
- Safest Places In Tennessee
- Best Cities For Singles In Tennessee
- Worst Places To Live In Tennessee
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In Tennessee For 2023
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis, TN | 306 |
| 2 | Springfield, TN | 5 |
| 3 | Knoxville, TN | 35 |
| 4 | Chattanooga, TN | 33 |
| 5 | Dyersburg, TN | 4 |
| 6 | Millington, TN | 3 |
| 7 | Jackson, TN | 11 |
| 8 | Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, TN | 99 |
| 9 | Ripley, TN | 2 |
| 10 | Humboldt, TN | 2 |
| 11 | Covington, TN | 2 |
| 12 | Union City, TN | 2 |
| 13 | Shelbyville, TN | 3 |
| 14 | Clarksville, TN | 15 |
| 15 | McMinnville, TN | 2 |
| 16 | Lebanon, TN | 4 |
| 17 | Athens, TN | 2 |
| 18 | Johnson City, TN | 5 |
| 19 | Cleveland, TN | 4 |
| 20 | Murfreesboro, TN | 7 |
| 21 | Pigeon Forge, TN | 1 |
| 22 | Henderson, TN | 1 |
| 23 | Newport, TN | 1 |
| 24 | Savannah, TN | 1 |
| 25 | Fayetteville, TN | 1 |
| 26 | Columbia, TN | 2 |
| 27 | Milan, TN | 1 |
| 28 | Gallatin, TN | 2 |
| 29 | Lexington, TN | 1 |
| 30 | Kingsport, TN | 2 |
| 31 | Brownsville, TN | 1 |
| 32 | Winchester, TN | 1 |
| 33 | Lenoir City, TN | 1 |
| 34 | Martin, TN | 1 |
| 35 | Alcoa, TN | 1 |
| 36 | Lawrenceburg, TN | 1 |
| 37 | Lewisburg, TN | 1 |
| 38 | Goodlettsville, TN | 1 |
| 39 | Sevierville, TN | 1 |
| 40 | Bristol, TN | 1 |
| 41 | Oak Ridge, TN | 1 |
| 42 | Morristown, TN | 1 |
| 43 | Brentwood, TN | 1 |
| 44 | Collierville, TN | 1 |
| 45 | Smyrna, TN | 1 |
| 46 | Franklin, TN | 1 |
