The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Shelby County, TN
Shelby County, the most populous county in Tennessee, is home to 919,200 residents and includes Memphis and Bartlett · Updated November 2026
Is Shelby County, TN safe?
Crime in Shelby County is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 94% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Shelby County. Violent crime grades F and property crime D+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Shelby County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
6% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Shelby County as a whole, and 94% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Shelby County scores 0.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Shelby County, TN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Shelby County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Shelby County
Aggravated assaults and car thefts both run high. In Shelby County, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 14.5 aggravated assaults and 11.7 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 2.7 nationally.
Robberies happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Shelby County, 37% of reported robberies happen at homes, against 17% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Shelby County
Safety changes a lot from one part of Shelby County to the next: 34% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 58% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Shelby County run from A+ to F; 17% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
34%58%
A or B 34%C 8%D or F 58%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Shelby County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Cordova, Bartlett, and Arlington areas have the least crime and the Memphis area the most.
Is crime going up in Shelby County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Shelby County is up 24%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 14 to 18 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 49 to 52 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Shelby CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Shelby County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Shelby County
Violent, US
Property, Shelby County
Property, US
2016
-4%
+4%
-8%
+15%
2017
+5%
+4%
+3%
+12%
2018
+3%
+0%
+5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+24%
+4%
-8%
-8%
2021
+27%
+6%
-12%
-10%
2022
+22%
+5%
+13%
-6%
2023
+29%
+2%
+32%
-7%
2024
+24%
-4%
+6%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Shelby County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Shelby County has about 114 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Tennessee.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Shelby County is assault, about 38% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Shelby County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Shelby County, 2022 to 2024.
In Shelby County, 64% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 39% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (64%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Homes (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (59%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Shelby County compares with nearby counties
Shelby County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Empty homes, jobs and walkability in Shelby County
One thing sets Shelby County apart: it has 10.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary and arson, and they run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.10.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 86% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.54 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 80% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 63% of Americans
Show all 6
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.97% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 71% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Shelby County: D (14 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 60% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 56% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Shelby County
Crime costs Shelby County about $4,507 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than triple the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $1.64 billion a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $6.49 billion a year, or $7,058 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$485 million
$528
Rape
$29 million
$32
Robbery
$69 million
$75
Assault
$572 million
$622
Burglary
$55 million
$59
Theft
$156 million
$170
Vehicle theft
$165 million
$180
Arson
$8.7 million
$10
Vandalism
$104 million
$113
Total
$1.64 billion
$1,788
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Shelby County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Shelby County, TN average a SchoolGrade of D: 31% of students test proficient, against 25% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Shelby County on SchoolGrade
