Hermitage Hotel · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Crime per resident in Nashville runs higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
All 6 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Behind the grade sit 10.6 violent crimes and 42.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 7.6 and 27.5 in the rest of Tennessee. What’s more, its letter for safety is D−, worked out from crimes Nashville’s police reported over 2023 to 2025: #125 of 129 graded towns in Tennessee, and #307 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 14% 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 Nashville
6 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Tennessee towns on Nashville’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Brentwood (B+), Hendersonville (B+), Millersville (B), Goodlettsville (B−), Ashland City (C+), La Vergne (C−). Rural Hill and Green Hill are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Nashville’s police reported 59 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 12.4 per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the rest of Tennessee (11.6) and 2.2 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 1.6 times the rest of Tennessee
142 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (783 reported in 2025), 1.6 times the rest of Tennessee (86.6) and 1.8 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Nashville reports less crime per resident than 6% (#307). Places like it ↓
A job center
Nashville has 510,003 jobs based in town for 745,904 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 Nashville’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; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Nashville | Rest of Tennessee | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12.2 | 13.2 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 14.5 | 14.9 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 14.6 | 11.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Nashville | Rest of Tennessee | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 180 | 100 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 163 | 111 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 155 | 87.2 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 109 | 61.7 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Nashville’s police reported 59 homicides, 783 robberies and 6,781 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Tennessee and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Crime in Nashville 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 9 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Nashville property | Rest of Tennessee property | Nashville violent | Rest of Tennessee violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 38.2 | 32.6 | 11.0 | 8.7 |
| 2023 | 44.0 | 33.6 | 11.3 | 8.6 |
| 2024 | 45.1 | 27.6 | 11.2 | 7.9 |
| 2025 | 38.3 | 21.4 | 9.4 | 6.4 |
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.
34,306 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.
6,781 violent and 27,525 property, as reported to the FBI by Nashville’s police.
192 of the 625 people who died in crashes on Nashville’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Nashville had 586 fatal crashes in five years, in which 625 people died. 3 of those killed were cyclists. 135 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 17.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Tennessee towns of 100,000+ people (18.2, 6 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Nashville has the 36th lowest rate.
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.
Nashville and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville | D− | 10.6 | 42.4 |
| La Vergne | C− | 4.5 | 16.2 |
| Millersville | B | 2.4 | 5.4 |
| Hendersonville | B+ | 1.2 | 7.4 |
| Goodlettsville | B− | 1.8 | 11.8 |
| Rural Hill | — | — | — |
| Ashland City | C+ | 1.6 | 15.8 |
| Brentwood | B+ | 0.7 | 7.6 |
| Green Hill | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Rural Hill and Green Hill are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Tennessee towns of a similar size
The five graded Tennessee towns closest to Nashville’s population (745,904), 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 Nashville. 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 Nashville’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (718,499 in 2025); our figure for Nashville is 745,904 (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 Nashville
Is Nashville, TN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Nashville reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #125 of 129 in Tennessee. Its police reported 10.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 7.6 in the rest of Tennessee and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Nashville?
10.6 violent and 42.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Tennessee reports 7.6 and 27.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Nashville in 2025?
Nashville’s police reported 59 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 8.2 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Nashville safer than La Vergne?
La Vergne reports less crime per resident than Nashville: La Vergne grades C− for safety and Nashville D−. La Vergne’s police reported 4.5 violent and 16.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Nashville?
Nashville’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Metropolitan Nashville Police Department”. 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 Nashville.
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.