State profile · TN · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Tennessee

Federal Clery Act filings for all 134 tracked Tennessee campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Nashville State Community College currently has the lowest rate.

134
Institutions tracked
2.31
Avg campus rate / 1k (134 of 134 scored)
2.36
Statewide rate / 1k
#36
Rank by avg campus rate
355,702
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Nashville State Community College has the lowest rate in Tennessee

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 134 tracked campuses in Tennessee, 80 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Nashville State Community College has the lowest rate at 0.13 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
134
average campus, per 1,000 (134 of 134 scored)
2.31
lowest nonzero rate - Nashville State Community
0.13
campuses at zero in score categories
80

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet TN · Tennessee 2.31/1k campus avg · #36/59

RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT

  • RATE-MID 2.31/1k
  • RANK-LOWER #36/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Wyoming · ±0.02
  • ZERO-HEAVY 60% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.05
  • BOOK-FULL 134/134
  • CONC-FLAT top5 30%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Wyoming (+0.02/1k)

Tennessee sheet RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT · peer Wyoming. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Wyoming (+0.02/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Nashville State Community College leads at 0.13/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in Tennessee (80 of 134) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, Nashville State Community College leads at 0.13/1k, then Columbia State Community College (0.18/1k); Lipscomb University (0.20/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Tennessee

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Tennessee on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Tennessee's 2.31/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Tennessee, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 54 Tennessee campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Showing the top 50 here so the page stays crawlable; positions are numbered within the full nonzero group.

26
Lee University Cleveland · 3,714 students
Enrollment
3,714
Incidents /1k
2.42
28
Union University Jackson · 2,713 students
Enrollment
2,713
Incidents /1k
2.58
43
King University Bristol · 1,157 students
Enrollment
1,157
Incidents /1k
5.19
47
Maryville College Maryville · 1,136 students
Enrollment
1,136
Incidents /1k
8.80
48
Rhodes College Memphis · 1,861 students
Enrollment
1,861
Incidents /1k
9.13
49
Bethel University Mckenzie · 2,936 students
Enrollment
2,936
Incidents /1k
9.20
50
Fisk University Nashville · 1,059 students
Enrollment
1,059
Incidents /1k
10.39
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Nashville State Community College Nashville · 7,533 students 7,533 0.13 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 Columbia State Community College Columbia · 5,712 students 5,712 0.18 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 Lipscomb University Nashville · 5,017 students 5,017 0.20 4% of the leader · rank #3
4 Chattanooga State Community College Chattanooga · 7,623 students 7,623 0.26 4% of the leader · rank #4
5 Jackson State Community College Jackson · 3,518 students 3,518 0.28 4% of the leader · rank #5
6 Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville · 9,399 students 9,399 0.53 4% of the leader · rank #6
7 Southwest Tennessee Community College Memphis · 7,004 students 7,004 0.57 4% of the leader · rank #7
8 Volunteer State Community College Gallatin · 6,963 students 6,963 0.57 4% of the leader · rank #8
9 SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville Nashville · 1,712 students 1,712 0.58 4% of the leader · rank #9
10 Roane State Community College Harriman · 5,002 students 5,002 0.60 4% of the leader · rank #10
11 Cleveland State Community College Cleveland · 3,282 students 3,282 0.61 4% of the leader · rank #11
12 Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville · 3,195 students 3,195 0.63 4% of the leader · rank #12
13 Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Memphis Memphis · 1,960 students 1,960 1.02 4% of the leader · rank #13
14 Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Knoxville Knoxville · 1,581 students 1,581 1.26 4% of the leader · rank #14
15 Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Upper Cumberland Crossville · 768 students 768 1.30 4% of the leader · rank #15
16 Carson-Newman University Jefferson City · 2,669 students 2,669 1.50 4% of the leader · rank #16
17 Milligan University Milligan · 1,240 students 1,240 1.61 4% of the leader · rank #17
18 Freed-Hardeman University Henderson · 2,306 students 2,306 1.73 4% of the leader · rank #18
19 Bryan College-Dayton Dayton · 1,701 students 1,701 1.76 4% of the leader · rank #19
20 Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate · 6,081 students 6,081 1.81 4% of the leader · rank #20
21 East Tennessee State University Johnson City · 13,728 students 13,728 1.89 4% of the leader · rank #21
22 Tennessee State University Nashville · 6,310 students 6,310 1.90 4% of the leader · rank #22
23 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro · 20,488 students 20,488 1.90 4% of the leader · rank #23
24 The University of Tennessee-Martin Martin · 7,499 students 7,499 2.13 4% of the leader · rank #24
25 University of Memphis Memphis · 20,276 students 20,276 2.37 4% of the leader · rank #25
26 Lee University Cleveland · 3,714 students 3,714 2.42 4% of the leader · rank #26
27 The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis · 3,101 students 3,101 2.58 4% of the leader · rank #27
28 Union University Jackson · 2,713 students 2,713 2.58 4% of the leader · rank #28
29 Southern Adventist University Collegedale · 3,229 students 3,229 2.79 4% of the leader · rank #29
30 Lincoln College of Technology-Nashville Nashville · 967 students 967 3.10 4% of the leader · rank #30
31 Meharry Medical College Nashville · 1,226 students 1,226 3.26 4% of the leader · rank #31
32 Tennessee Technological University Cookeville · 10,511 students 10,511 3.33 4% of the leader · rank #32
33 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville · 38,728 students 38,728 3.41 4% of the leader · rank #33
34 Tusculum University Greeneville · 1,103 students 1,103 3.63 4% of the leader · rank #34
35 Austin Peay State University Clarksville · 10,439 students 10,439 3.64 4% of the leader · rank #35
36 Southern College of Optometry Memphis · 530 students 530 3.77 4% of the leader · rank #36
37 Belmont University Nashville · 8,803 students 8,803 3.86 4% of the leader · rank #37
38 Christian Brothers University Memphis · 1,772 students 1,772 3.95 4% of the leader · rank #38
39 Nossi College of Art and Design Nashville · 247 students 247 4.05 5% of the leader · rank #39
40 Johnson University Knoxville · 978 students 978 4.09 5% of the leader · rank #40
41 The University of Tennessee Southern Pulaski · 1,046 students 1,046 4.78 5% of the leader · rank #41
42 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga · 11,775 students 11,775 5.01 6% of the leader · rank #42
43 King University Bristol · 1,157 students 1,157 5.19 6% of the leader · rank #43
44 The University of the South Sewanee · 1,724 students 1,724 5.22 6% of the leader · rank #44
45 Concorde Career College-Memphis Memphis · 517 students 517 5.80 6% of the leader · rank #45
46 Le Moyne-Owen College Memphis · 659 students 659 7.59 8% of the leader · rank #46
47 Maryville College Maryville · 1,136 students 1,136 8.80 10% of the leader · rank #47
48 Rhodes College Memphis · 1,861 students 1,861 9.13 10% of the leader · rank #48
49 Bethel University Mckenzie · 2,936 students 2,936 9.20 10% of the leader · rank #49
50 Fisk University Nashville · 1,059 students 1,059 10.39 12% of the leader · rank #50

4 additional nonzero-reporting campuses rank below this top-50 list in the same rate order.

Look up any campus via the Campus Safety Incident Tool or browse all schools.

Unranked campuses (80): zero score or no normalized rate

80 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 65 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
Academy of Allied Health Careers Chattanooga · 194 students 194 0.00
American Baptist College Nashville · 46 students 46 0.00
Arnolds Beauty School Milan · 63 students 63 0.00
Austin's Beauty College Inc Clarksville · 101 students 101 0.00
Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis · 891 students 891 0.00
Brillare Beauty Institute Cleveland · 265 students 265 0.00
Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers Chattanooga · 252 students 252 0.00
Cumberland University Lebanon · 3,457 students 3,457 0.00
Dyersburg State Community College Dyersburg · 3,296 students 3,296 0.00
Elite College of Cosmetology Lexington · 53 students 53 0.00
Empire Beauty School-E Memphis Memphis · 156 students 156 0.00
Empire Beauty School-Jackson Jackson · 73 students 73 0.00
Empire Beauty School-Nashville Brentwood · 111 students 111 0.00
Fortis Institute-Cookeville Cookeville · 334 students 334 0.00
Fortis Institute-Nashville Nashville · 393 students 393 0.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Tennessee by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: The University of Tennessee-Knoxville (38,728); Middle Tennessee State University (20,488); University of Memphis (20,276), then 131 more. The 15 biggest Tennessee institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 30% of the 355,702 students enrolled across all 134 tracked Tennessee institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Tennessee College of Applied Technology-McMinnville (812 students, 0.00/1k).

7
South College Knoxville · 11,557 students
Enrollment
11,557
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville · 38,728 students 38,728 100% of the leader · rank #1 3.41
2 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro · 20,488 students 20,488 53% of the leader · rank #2 1.90
3 University of Memphis Memphis · 20,276 students 20,276 52% of the leader · rank #3 2.37
4 East Tennessee State University Johnson City · 13,728 students 13,728 35% of the leader · rank #4 1.89
5 Vanderbilt University Nashville · 13,575 students 13,575 35% of the leader · rank #5 12.08
6 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga · 11,775 students 11,775 30% of the leader · rank #6 5.01
7 South College Knoxville · 11,557 students 11,557 30% of the leader · rank #7 0.00
8 Tennessee Technological University Cookeville · 10,511 students 10,511 27% of the leader · rank #8 3.33
9 Austin Peay State University Clarksville · 10,439 students 10,439 27% of the leader · rank #9 3.64
10 Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville · 9,399 students 9,399 24% of the leader · rank #10 0.53
11 Belmont University Nashville · 8,803 students 8,803 23% of the leader · rank #11 3.86
12 Chattanooga State Community College Chattanooga · 7,623 students 7,623 20% of the leader · rank #12 0.26
13 Nashville State Community College Nashville · 7,533 students 7,533 19% of the leader · rank #13 0.13
14 The University of Tennessee-Martin Martin · 7,499 students 7,499 19% of the leader · rank #14 2.13
15 Southwest Tennessee Community College Memphis · 7,004 students 7,004 18% of the leader · rank #15 0.57

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Tennessee: closest on tracked campus count (134 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (2.31/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Wyoming sits nearest on unweighted campus average (+0.02/1k). Inside Tennessee, open Nashville State Community College's campus sheet next.

Nashville State Community College profile → | All states → | Tennessee net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Tennessee campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Tennessee?

Among Tennessee campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Nashville State Community College has the lowest rate (0.13 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Columbia State Community College (0.18/1k); Lipscomb University (0.20/1k). 80 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Tennessee?

In Tennessee, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Nashville State Community College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.13/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Tennessee are compared?

This page covers 134 tracked higher-education institutions in Tennessee, serving about 355,702 enrolled students combined across 58 cities. 54 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 80 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are The University of Tennessee-Knoxville (38,728); Middle Tennessee State University (20,488); University of Memphis (20,276). Nearby state averages for context: Wyoming (2.32/1k); New Hampshire (2.27/1k); American Samoa (2.37/1k); Indiana (2.24/1k); North Dakota (2.38/1k); Virginia (2.23/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.