Shelby County, the most populous county in Tennessee, is home to 919,200 residents and includes Memphis and Bartlett · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Shelby County?
Violent crime is high in Shelby County: an F, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 96% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
F
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000More violent crime than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
4% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Shelby County as a whole, and 96% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, 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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid 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 about violent crime in Shelby County
Aggravated assaults and robberies both run high. In Shelby County, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 14.5 aggravated assaults and 2.4 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 0.62 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Shelby County
Violent crime changes a lot from one part of Shelby County to the next: 37% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 56% live in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Shelby County run from A+ to F.
37%56%
A or B 37%C 7%D or F 56%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Shelby County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is violent crime going up in Shelby County?
Reported violent crime in Shelby County has risen 24% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 14 to 18 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent 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
2016
-4%
+4%
2017
+5%
+4%
2018
+3%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+24%
+4%
2021
+27%
+6%
2022
+22%
+5%
2023
+29%
+2%
2024
+24%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Shelby County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Shelby County has about 46 reported violent 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.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Shelby County, about 93% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 45% of the cost of violent crime here.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Shelby County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Shelby County, 2022 to 2024.
In Shelby County, 59% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at homes: 37% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
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.
Violent crime in Shelby County and nearby counties
Shelby County has the most violent crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Shelby County. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Shelby County has more violent crime than 99% of them.
Shelby County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with violent crime.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.54 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 80% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Shelby County: D (14 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 60% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.13% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 55% 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 violent crime costs Shelby County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Shelby County about $5.99 billion a year, or $6,517 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $1.15 billion, or $1,256 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 81% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$485 million
$528
Rape
$29 million
$32
Robbery
$69 million
$75
Assault
$572 million
$622
Total
$1.15 billion
$1,256
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
