Photo: Mrgriffter · CC BY-SA 4.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Johnson City than in 84% of U.S. towns
Behind the grade sit 4.0 violent crimes and 24.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 8.2 and 30.2 in the rest of Tennessee. Even so, its Safety Grade is C−, on crimes Johnson City’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #95 of 129 graded towns in Tennessee. The crimes the grade counts fell 21% per resident from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of TN” is every other Tennessee city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Johnson City
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 Tennessee towns on Johnson City’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Elizabethton (C). Gray, Pine Crest, Oak Grove, Spurgeon and Central are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
A college town
Johnson City is home to East Tennessee State University, with 10,770 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 14% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Johnson City has 50,749 jobs based in town for 74,943 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Johnson City’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Johnson City property | Rest of Tennessee property | Johnson City violent | Rest of Tennessee violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 34.2 | 33.6 | 3.8 | 9.2 |
| 2023 | 28.1 | 35.5 | 4.0 | 9.2 |
| 2024 | 23.0 | 30.7 | 4.0 | 8.6 |
| 2025 | 21.2 | 24.4 | 4.1 | 7.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Tennessee.
Crime in Johnson City per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Johnson City | Rest of Tennessee | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.8 | 9.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 4.0 | 9.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.0 | 8.6 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Johnson City’s police reported 896 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 4.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.2 in the rest of Tennessee and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
1,884 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
307 violent and 1,577 property, as reported to the FBI by Johnson City’s police.
41 people died in crashes on Johnson City’s roads in 2019–2023
Johnson City had 37 fatal crashes in five years, in which 41 people died; 8 were pedestrians. 16 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 11.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Tennessee towns of 25,000–100,000 people (9.6, 22 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Johnson City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson City | C− | 4.0 | 24.1 |
| Gray | — | — | — |
| Pine Crest | — | — | — |
| Oak Grove | — | — | — |
| Spurgeon | — | — | — |
| Central | — | — | — |
| Elizabethton | C | 2.2 | 18.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Gray, Pine Crest, Oak Grove, Spurgeon and Central are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Tennessee towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson City | C− | 4.0 | 24.1 |
| Spring Hill | B+ | 1.5 | 5.5 |
| Hendersonville | B+ | 1.2 | 7.4 |
| Franklin | B | 1.5 | 8.8 |
| Smyrna | C− | 3.0 | 22.0 |
| Jackson | D− | 9.2 | 30.5 |
The five graded Tennessee towns closest to Johnson City’s population (74,943), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Johnson City. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Johnson City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (74,280 in 2025); our figure for Johnson City is 74,943 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Johnson City
Is Johnson City, TN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Johnson City reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #95 of 129 in Tennessee. Its police reported 4.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.2 in the rest of Tennessee and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Johnson City?
4.0 violent and 24.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Tennessee reports 8.2 and 30.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Johnson City in 2025?
Johnson City’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 1.3 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Johnson City safer than Elizabethton?
Elizabethton reports less crime per resident than Johnson City: Elizabethton grades C for safety and Johnson City C−. Elizabethton’s police reported 2.2 violent and 18.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Johnson City?
Johnson City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Johnson City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Johnson City.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.