Topeka

Population & Demographics

Topeka, KS

Topeka is home to 125,786 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 56,487 resident workers commute each day.

KansasCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
125,786
people
Population

125,786 residents

Median age 38.0 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Topeka population & demographics

Who lives in Topeka — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
125,786
Median age
38.0yrs
Median household income
$56,956
Median home value
$144,200
Median gross rent
$979/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
29.0%
Poverty rate
15.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Topeka

How Topeka breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White65.1%
Hispanic or Latino16.9%
Black8.5%
Two or more races6.9%
Asian1.5%
Some other race0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%

Race across Topeka

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Topeka.

Topeka at a glance
Employed Residents
56,487
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
49.2mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
65.9%
Share working within the area
Work from home
10.9%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Lawrence
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Topeka proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Topeka commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

84
Commute Score

84 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Topeka

56,487 commutes, one dot at a time

Topeka

Where 56,487 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Topeka, by worker count.

1Topeka0.0 mi37,214
2Lawrence24.1 mi2,086
3Overland Park55.0 mi1,314
4Wichita129.0 mi842
5Olathe49.2 mi746
6Lenexa49.9 mi690
7Kansas City54.3 mi583
8Manhattan49.3 mi513

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Topeka.

1Topeka0.0 mi37,214
2Lawrence24.1 mi2,896
3Wichita129.0 mi2,493
4Overland Park55.0 mi1,335
5Manhattan49.3 mi1,183
6Olathe49.2 mi976
7Kansas City54.3 mi929
8Kansas City61.4 mi756

Top industries

The sectors that employ Topeka’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance22.1%
PAPublic Administration14.1%
RTRetail Trade9.3%
AFAccommodation and Food Services7.2%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services6.9%
FIFinance and Insurance6.5%
EDEducational Services6.1%
MFManufacturing5.8%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services5.3%
Connectivity

Internet options for Topeka

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

12 providers · 2 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps67%
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Topeka

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).