Tennessee Has Ranked Among the Worst States for Gun Crime for Over a Decade

By Sam Stebbins Published Feb 13, 10:45AM EST

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Tennessee Has Ranked Among the Worst States for Gun Crime for Over a Decade — © Photo By Raymond Boyd / Getty Images

Firearm sales have hit historic highs in the U.S. in recent years, and the ongoing proliferation of firearms may be fueling a rise in gun crime.

When firearms are recovered at a crime scene or taken from a suspect, they are often reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for tracing. In these cases, the ATF assists in criminal investigations by using serial numbers and other markings to determine when and where a firearm was originally purchased — and over the last 12 years, firearm-related offenses have been taking up a growing share of federal resources.

Between 2010 and 2022, the number of guns traced by the ATF surged by 174%, from 145,600 to 399,400, climbing by anywhere from 3% to 18% in a single year. Most homicides in the U.S. are committed with a firearm, and over the same period, the national homicide rate climbed by over 50%.

While not all guns traced by the ATF were used in a crime — and not all firearms used for illicit purposes are traced — federal tracing data offers valuable insight into trends and geographic patterns related to gun violence in the United States.

Mirroring the national trend, gun tracings are up sharply in Tennessee. The ATF traced 14,023 seized firearms in the state in 2022, compared to 3,469 in 2010. Adjusting for population, gun crime has long been more common in Tennessee than it is across the U.S. as a whole. In 12 of the last 13 years, the number of firearm tracings for every 100,000 people in the state was above the comparable national rate.

As of 2022, the most recent year of available data, the ATF traced 199 seized firearms for every 100,000 people in the state, the second highest gun-tracing rate among states.

2010: 3,469 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2010: 54.6 per 100,000 people (14th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2010: 47.1 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2010: 5.6 per 100,000 people (13th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2010: 4.8 per 100,000 people

2011: 2,647 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2011: 41.3 per 100,000 people (23rd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2011: 47.9 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2011: 5.9 per 100,000 people (11th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2011: 4.7 per 100,000 people

2012: 3,920 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2012: 60.7 per 100,000 people (15th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2012: 49.8 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2012: 6.2 per 100,000 people (8th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2012: 4.7 per 100,000 people

2013: 4,863 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2013: 74.9 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2013: 52.6 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2013: 5.2 per 100,000 people (15th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2013: 4.5 per 100,000 people

2014: 3,849 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2014: 58.8 per 100,000 people (19th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2014: 53.4 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2014: 5.6 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2014: 4.4 per 100,000 people

2015: 5,811 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2015: 88.0 per 100,000 people (7th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2015: 59.3 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2015: 6.3 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2015: 4.9 per 100,000 people

2016: 6,897 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2016: 103.7 per 100,000 people (5th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2016: 65.4 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2016: 7.4 per 100,000 people (8th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2016: 5.4 per 100,000 people

2017: 7,981 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2017: 118.8 per 100,000 people (3rd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2017: 73.4 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2017: 8.0 per 100,000 people (8th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2017: 5.3 per 100,000 people

2018: 8,802 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2018: 130.0 per 100,000 people (2nd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2018: 77.9 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2018: 7.5 per 100,000 people (6th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2018: 5.0 per 100,000 people

2019: 9,610 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2019: 140.7 per 100,000 people (3rd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2019: 82.0 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2019: 7.5 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2019: 5.1 per 100,000 people

2020: 10,427 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2020: 154.0 per 100,000 people (5th highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2020: 93.9 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2020: 9.6 per 100,000 people (6th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2020: 6.5 per 100,000 people

2021: 12,770 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2021: 183.1 per 100,000 people (2nd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2021: 108.9 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2021: 10.9 per 100,000 people
U.S. homicide rate, 2021: 7.7 per 100,000 people

2022: 14,023 firearms traced by the ATF

Firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee, 2022: 198.9 per 100,000 people (2nd highest)
Firearms traced by the ATF nationwide, 2022: 119.8 per 100,000 people
Tennessee homicide rate, 2022: 9.8 per 100,000 people (10th highest)
U.S. homicide rate, 2022: 7.3 per 100,000 people

Year	Firearm tracings per 100,000 people in Tennessee	Firearm tracings per 100,000 people in the US	Total firearms traced by the ATF in Tennessee	Total firearms traced by the ATF in the US
2022	198.9	119.8	14,023	399,397
2021	183.1	108.9	12,770	361,587
2020	154.0	93.9	10,427	306,686
2019	140.7	82.0	9,610	269,250
2018	130.0	77.9	8,802	254,700
2017	118.8	73.4	7,981	239,175
2016	103.7	65.4	6,897	211,384
2015	88.0	59.3	5,811	190,538
2014	58.8	53.4	3,849	170,344
2013	74.9	52.6	4,863	166,426
2012	60.7	49.8	3,920	156,346
2011	41.3	47.9	2,647	149,276
2010	54.6	47.1	3,469	145,604

About the Author Sam Stebbins →

Sam Stebbins is a writer at a673b.bigscoots-temp.com where his primary focus is on government policy, politics, companies, and broad social and economic trends. Sam has been writing in the money and news verticals for over 8 years and holds a bachelor's degree from Hobart College, which he earned in 2010. Sam resides in upstate New York and enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, and skiing in the Adirondack Mountains and across the Northeast.