Brentwood ranked as Tennessee's safest city; Knoxville, Memphis among the worst

The safest cities in Tennessee tend to be in suburbia, especially suburban Nashville, while Tennessee’s largest cities are among the least safe, according to a report issued Tuesday by the National Council for Home Safety and Security.

The report says Brentwood, in Williamson County, is the safest Tennessee city based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data as well as internal research by the council, which is a trade association of U.S. alarm installers, contractors and related trade groups.

The rankings include 53 Tennessee cities with a population of at least 10,000 (and that had submitted a crime report) and take into account both violent crime and property crime.

Two other Nashville-area towns made the Top 5 – Spring Hill (No. 2) and Mount Juliet (No. 5), while Collegedale, in suburban Chattanooga, landed at No. 3, and Germantown, near Memphis, was ranked No. 4.

The highest-ranking city in the Knoxville area is Maryville, ranked No. 14.

Among cities with populations of more than 100,000, Clarksville is ranked No. 20 and Murfreesboro is No. 22; Metro Nashville comes in at No. 37, Knoxville is No. 46, Chattanooga is No. 47, and Memphis is No. 51.

Athens, in East Tennessee’s McMinn County, landed at the bottom at No. 53.

Other Knoxville-area cities include: No. 24 Oak Ridge, No. 36 Clinton and No. 42 Sevierville.

Jackson is No. 40.

The top 10 safest cities in Tennessee:

1. Brentwood

2. Spring Hill

3. Collegedale

4. Germantown

5. Mount Juliet

6. Hendersonville

7. Collierville

8. Franklin

9. Gallatin

10. Bartlett

The bottom 10:

44. Crossville

45. Lawrenceburg

46. Knoxville

47. Chattanooga

48. Cleveland

49. Dickson

50. Union City

51. Memphis

52. Dyersburg

53. Athens