Topeka, Kansas
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Topeka.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Topeka compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 126,587City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $52,000Incorporated place (ACS)34% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 85ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)15% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $155,000City limits (ACS)49% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $900City limits (ACS)33% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 3.3%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 17 min32% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 3033% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 62launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Property crime rate
- 68launch estimate, not FBI-verified yet
- Summer high
- 89°F2.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 19°F15.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 35 in6% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 22217% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Topeka with another city
Wide-open plains weather — wind, heat, and tornado season — is a planning factor. Winter lows around 19°F mean heating costs and snow logistics belong on the checklist. Average one-way commute time is about 17 minutes, and Walk Score estimates land around 30/100. Labor-market readings near 3.3% unemployment are neither boom nor bust by national standards. Safety figures are still on the curated-seed baseline for this city; check back once FBI Crime Data Explorer enrichment has run for an actual per-100k rate.
Topeka, Kansas counts about 126,587 residents inside the city limits. With median income around $52,000 and a cost index of 85, the market reads below the national housing-cost baseline. Entry home prices around $155,000 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Topeka is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Topeka with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau / American Community Survey (curated seed)
- BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics (curated seed)
- Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer (curated seed)
- Climate: NOAA Climate Normals (curated seed)
Last updated 2026-07-28