Tennessee
Data sources: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Last updated: 01/08/2026
Safest Cities in Tennessee for Property Crime: Burglary, Larceny, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Robbery
Tennessee, located in the southeastern US, combines rich cultural history with breathtaking landscapes. Nashville is known globally as the capital of country music, while Memphis was crucial to the development of the blues, on Beale Street, and rock and roll, with the emergence of Elvis Presley. From Knoxville, the Great Smoky Mountains stretch along the Tennessee/North Carolina border. The Smokeys are one of the most iconic stretches of the Appalachian Mountains and home to a national park.
But, when it comes to those who call the state home, how is it affected by property crime? And which are the safest cities in Tennessee? For people moving to the state, we’ll also explore the safest places to live in Tennessee, and the Tennessee crime rate.
Read on to learn how property crime is affecting cities across Tennessee.
01.
Understanding property crime
Our analysis and content are based on the most recent FBI data on property crime (2022 through 2024). We cover burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft – what the FBIdefines as property crime and ‘theft-type offences’. These include property being taken from someone without their consent – and without the use of force. Robbery, which the FBI classes as a type of violent crime, is also included in our analysis.
| Crime | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary / breaking entering | 22,793 | 21,369 | 18,397 |
| Larceny/theft offenses | 115,602 | 115,923 | 104,985 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 25,842 | 32,424 | 24,412 |
Data sources: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Across the state, reported cases of burglary decreased by 2,972 between 2023 and 2024, while cases of larceny decreased by 10,938 cases. Motor vehicle theft, meanwhile, was down by 8,012 over the 12-month period.
Knoxville
Knoxville was the first state capital of Tennessee, founded in 1791. The city sits in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, along the border with North Carolina, and the Tennessee River flows through the city. This geography made Knoxville a key battleground in the American Civil War. Today, the mountains and the river attract an outdoorsy crowd – with a population of over 198,000. It’s known as the ‘Gateway to the Smokies’ and is home to the University of Tennessee.
When it comes to property crime in Knoxville, there were 660 burglaries reported in 2024 and a similar number of motor vehicle thefts (1089). The number of larcenies reached 4,040 in the same period. When you look at the crimes per 100,000 people (crime rate), there were 332 burglaries and 2,033 larcenies, for example.
These numbers are relatively small, but Knoxville is considerably smaller than the bigger Tennessean cities of Nashville and Memphis.
Tennessee crime rate by city
Crime rate data is another important metric for contextualizing crime numbers in a state or city. It calculates the number of crimes per 100,000 people, and is based on the same FBI dataset. The numbers below are from 2024.
| City | Burglary | Larceny | Motor Vehicle Theft | Robbery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville | 332 | 2,033 | 388 | 83 |
| Chattanooga | 372 | 2,902 | 656 | 95 |
| Nashville | 443 | 3,335 | 718 | 159 |
| Memphis | 920 | 4,424 | 1,590 | 350 |
Data sources: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Safest cities in TN – our methodology
If you’re wanting to see how property crime compares across cities in the state to work out what’s the safest places to live in Tennessee, our analysis of FBI data from 2024 should help. With data on burglaries, larceny, motor vehicle theft and robbery side by side you can see the safest cities in TN.
| City | Population | Burglary | Larceny | Motor Vehicle Theft | Robbery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville | 198,722 | 660 | 4,040 | 771 | 164 |
| Chattanooga | 191,496 | 712 | 5,558 | 1,257 | 182 |
| Nashville | 705,540 | 3,125 | 23,512 | 5,063 | 1,121 |
| Memphis | 610,919 | 5,623 | 27,030 | 9,714 | 2,136 |
Data sources: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Also, as the cities in the state vary in size, judging which is the safest in Tennessee is nuanced. So, when reviewing the numbers of reported cases of, for example, burglaries in each city, consider those numbers alongside their respective populations.
Crime rate data, which looks at the number of crimes per 100,000 people, perhaps offers a more accurate view of the most dangerous and safest cities in Tennessee.
Disclaimer: We’ve only included data for the locations CPI Security serves. Currently this is only in the Knoxville area. More locations in TN will be added to this page soon. But until then it cannot be used to compare the safety of cities or to state that one city is safer than another.
02.
How to protect your home against property crime
Homeowners can take steps to protect their property against crimes such as burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny with a Tennessee home security system. Systems comprise cameras, motion sensors and alarms – all controlled via a central hub and smartphone app.
More crime data
South Carolina
Tennessee
Georgia
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| 08/20/2025 | All crime data statistics updated |
| 01/08/2026 | All crime data statistics updated |
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