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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Updated April 2026 · 7 cities · 6 data sources

Tennessee Data Profile 2026: Crime, Schools, Water, Air, Hospitals & City Spending

Cities Tracked
7
Avg Safety Score
64/100
Avg Water Safety
94/100

Crime & Safety

Tennessee has an average safety score of 64/100 across 6 cities, above the national average of 61.5/100.

Safest Cities

CitySafety ScoreGradeViolent Crime Rate
Knoxville68B333.5
Nashville68B391.2
Chattanooga65B276.5
Memphis65B284.5
Murfreesboro65B463.1

Most Dangerous Cities

CitySafety ScoreGradeViolent Crime Rate
Clarksville53C540.9
Chattanooga65B276.5
Memphis65B284.5
Murfreesboro65B463.1
Knoxville68B333.5

Water Safety

Tennessee cities average a water safety score of 94/100 across 5 cities.

Cleanest Water

CitySafety ScoreGradeViolations
Chattanooga100A0
Clarksville100A0
Memphis100A0
Knoxville88A0
Nashville82A0

Most Water Violations

CitySafety ScoreGradeViolations
Chattanooga100A0
Clarksville100A0
Knoxville88A0
Memphis100A0
Nashville82A0

Hospital Quality

Tennessee cities have an average hospital quality rating of 2.6/5 across 7 cities with a total of 39 hospitals tracked.

Top-Rated Hospital Cities

CityAvg QualityHospital Count
Nashville3.7/510
Chattanooga3.3/55
Knoxville3.3/56
Memphis2.6/512
Murfreesboro2/53

City Spending

Tennessee cities average $20,147.3 in per-capita spending with an average fiscal health score of 61.3/100.

Most Fiscally Efficient

CityFiscal ScorePer Capita
Clarksville80/100$8,523
Chattanooga78/100$24,150
Memphis65/100$22,111
Knoxville51/100$17,926
Bartlett50/100$29,362

Biggest Spenders (Per Capita)

CityPer CapitaFiscal Score
Bartlett$29,36250/100
Chattanooga$24,15078/100
Memphis$22,11165/100
Murfreesboro$18,81244/100
Knoxville$17,92651/100

According to data compiled by CitySpend.org from 6 federal sources, Tennessee has 7 tracked cities with an average safety score of 64, school score of 0, and water safety score of 94.

Frequently Asked Questions

Based on FBI crime data, Knoxville is the safest city in Tennessee with a safety score of 68/100 (Grade B).

Chattanooga has the highest water safety score in Tennessee at 100/100 with 0 violations.

Clarksville has the highest fiscal health score in Tennessee at 80/100 with per-capita spending of $8,523.

Cross-site data compiled from CrimeContext, WaterSafe, AirHistory, SchoolGrades, HospitalCosts, and CitySpend databases. Scores reflect the most recent federal data available for each dimension.

this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. municipal and county government finances dataset. The detail above comes directly from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. cities, counties, and states.

The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.

For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. cities, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.