Knoxville, TN crime rate
In 2025 the Knoxville Police Department reported 684.8 violent crimes and 2,358.9 property crimes per 100,000 residents it covers. The FBI's estimates for Tennessee and the US for the same year are beside each number.
Data as of 2025 (FBI), checked October 30, 2026. How we got these numbers
Data notes.
- Murder, 2025: possibly incomplete. 16 reported; 3 of 12 months zero (Jan, Apr, May) while other offenses were reported in those months; 2023: 24 reported. The count is shown; its rate is not compared.
- Murder, 2024: possibly incomplete. 23 reported; 3 of 12 months zero (Mar, Aug, Sep) while other offenses were reported in those months; 2023: 24 reported. The count is shown; its rate is not compared.
- Arson, 2022: unusual change, check the source. 2021: 13, 2022: 4, 2023: 7 (under 60% of both neighbouring years). Changes to and from 2022 are not shown.
How does Knoxville compare with Tennessee and the US?
Arson has no FBI state or US estimate, so its row shows Knoxville only.
What offenses were reported in Knoxville, 2025?
| Offense | Reported | Per 100k | Tennessee | US | vs 2024 | vs 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | ||||||
| Violent crime | 1,374 | 684.8 | 492.3 | 327.6 | down 7.8% | down 18.1% |
| Murder | 16 | 6.5 | 4.1 | See data note | See data note | |
| Rape | 147 | 73.3 | 35.3 | 36.1 | up 11.4% | down 5.8% |
| Robbery | 112 | 55.8 | 41.5 | 49.4 | down 31.8% | down 37.9% |
| Aggravated assault | 1,099 | 547.7 | 409.1 | 238.0 | down 6.2% | down 15.4% |
| Property crime | ||||||
| Property crime | 4,733 | 2,358.9 | 1,636.6 | 1,534.8 | down 13.7% | down 41.5% |
| Burglary | 661 | 329.4 | 204.5 | 193.6 | up 0.1% | down 31.3% |
| Larceny-theft | 3,497 | 1,742.9 | 1,205.7 | 1,144.1 | down 13.5% | down 41.1% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 572 | 285.1 | 226.4 | 197.0 | down 25.9% | down 51.7% |
| Arson | 3 | 1.5 | Not estimated | Not estimated | down 66.7% | down 77.9% |
Reported = offenses known to the Knoxville Police Department and sent to the FBI. Tennessee and US are FBI estimates for the same year. Changes compare rates of full years only.
Violent crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Knoxville | United States | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 835.7 | 387.0 | 671.8 |
| 2022 | 845.3 | 388.7 | 637.4 |
| 2023 | 819.7 | 379.5 | 636.5 |
| 2024 | 742.8 | 362.9 | 602.4 |
| 2025 | 684.8 | 327.6 | 492.3 |
Property crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Knoxville | United States | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4,035.2 | 1,832.3 | 2,255.8 |
| 2022 | 3,916.8 | 1,973.8 | 2,331.3 |
| 2023 | 3,138.8 | 1,934.1 | 2,373.3 |
| 2024 | 2,733.8 | 1,761.1 | 2,047.7 |
| 2025 | 2,358.9 | 1,534.8 | 1,636.6 |
Is Knoxville safe?
We don't rate cities as safe or unsafe. What the FBI's numbers show: in 2025 the violent crime rate the Knoxville Police Department reported, 684.8 per 100,000 residents, was higher than Tennessee's 492.3, and higher than the US rate of 327.6 (FBI estimates). It fell 7.8% from 2024.
What these numbers can't tell you:
- How crime differs between neighborhoods (the FBI publishes agency totals only).
- Crimes nobody reported to the police.
- How many offenses involved visitors and commuters, who are not in the population count.
Knoxville's police had 1,374 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, or 684.8 per 100,000 residents covered by the Knoxville Police Department. That is 1.4 times the FBI's Tennessee estimate, 492.3, and 2.1 times the US rate, 327.6. Property crime was 2,358.9 per 100,000, compared with 1,636.6 for the state and 1,534.8 for the US.
Since 2021 property crime has fallen 41.5%, from 4,035.2, and it fell 13.7% from 2024 to 2025. The violent rate came down 18.1% from 835.7 in 2021 and 7.8% in the last year. Robbery fell 37.9% from 2021 to 2025, including 31.8% from 2024 to 2025.
Rape rose 11.4% from 2024 to 2025. Against 2021, the rape rate is 5.8% lower. Aggravated assault made up 80% of violent crime, at 547.7 per 100,000, 2.3 times the US rate.
Motor vehicle theft dropped 51.7% from 2021, and larceny-theft, 74% of property crime, dropped 41.1%. The murder counts for 2024 and 2025 are flagged as possibly incomplete, with several months sent as zero, and the 2022 arson count is flagged as an unusual change; none of them is compared here. Every month of the 5 years shown was sent, and NIBRS reporting goes back to 2000.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office and University of Tennessee police in Knoxville report separately.
Written from the numbers on this page. Every figure and every comparison is checked against the stored FBI data before publishing.
Police employees, 2025: 2.34 per 1,000 residents (369 officers, 100 civilians), FBI Crime Data Explorer. Shown as context, not as a measure of crime.
Other Tennessee cities
The nearest Tennessee cities with a page, in alphabetical order. VC = violent crime per 100,000, 2025.
Sources
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, Knoxville Police Department (ORI TN0470100), offenses known to law enforcement and police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026. Crime Data Explorer
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, Tennessee and United States estimated crime (Summary Reporting System estimates), 2021 to 2025.
- FBI, "UCR Statistics: Their Proper Use" (why we don't rank cities).
Every stored file behind this page (11)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): violent crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_violent_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): murder, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_homicide__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): rape, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_rape__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): robbery, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_robbery__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): aggravated assault, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_aggravated_assault__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): property crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_property_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): burglary, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_burglary__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): larceny-theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_larceny__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): motor vehicle theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_motor_vehicle_theft__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): arson, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_TN0470100_arson__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Knoxville Police Department (TN0470100): police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/pe_agency_TN0470100__from-2021-to-2025.json)