NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) says Tennessee has one of the highest homicide rates in the nation.
According to Homicide Mortality maps compiled by NCHS, Tennessee’s age-adjusted homicide rate from 2020 – the agency’s most recent period – was 11.5 deaths per 100,000 population.
Across the state, 753 deaths were classified as homicides during 2020. Tennessee’s most recent rate places it at 7th in the nation in terms of homicide below South Carolina and above Maryland.
Compared to its neighbors, Tennessee is toward the middle of the pack. Virginia’s age-adjusted rate is 6.4 per 100,000, while Mississippi – the state with the country’s highest homicide rate – sits at 20.5 per 100,000.
California sits squarely at the top of total homicides with 2,368 in 2020, but large population counts mean the state’s rate is 6.1 per 100,000.
