Inside the old Monroe School, Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park is the main reason to visit Topeka and a place with real national weight in the story of civil rights. The city is the capital of Kansas, home to about 126,000 people on the Kansas River. The State Capitol runs tours, including a climb up the dome.
Day to day it is a low-key, very affordable Midwestern city, with home values and rents well under the national average and a steady market. The NOTO Arts District has galleries and a First Friday art walk, and College Hill and Potwin are pleasant residential pockets. Be honest about safety, though. Violent crime is well above the national average, concentrated in parts of East and North Topeka, so take ordinary care at night, especially on foot. Weather is a factor too, with spring tornadoes and hail, river flooding, summer humidity, and icy winters.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- Capital City; Top City; T-Town; City of Topeka (Kansas state capital); Home of Brown v. Board of Education
- Founded
- 1854 settled (founded by free-state settlers); 1857 incorporated; state capital since 1861
- Languages
- English; Spanish; some Vietnamese, Burmese and other refugee community languages
- Airports
- Topeka Regional Airport (FOE) is a general aviation and military field with no scheduled commercial airline service to my knowledge (not verified); Kansas City International (MCI) about 65 miles east, roughly 1 hour and 10 minutes; Manhattan Regional (MHK) about 50 miles west with limited commercial service; Wichita Eisenhower (ICT) about 140 miles.
- Tipping
- Restaurants (table service): 18 to 20 percent; counter service and coffee: optional; bars: 1 to 2 dollars per drink or 15 to 20 percent; taxis and rideshare: 15 to 20 percent; hotel housekeeping: 2 to 5 dollars per night; bellhop: 1 to 2 dollars per bag; hair and spa: 15 to 20 percent; pizza delivery: 10 to 20 percent or 3 to 5 dollars.
About this data
Verified: city population 125,795 (Census July 1, 2025 estimate), land area 61.45 sq mi converted to 159.2 km2, median home value and rent (Census QuickFacts), Topeka MSA population 233,052 for 2025 (FRED, updated March 2026). Topeka is the principal city of its MSA (not shared with a bigger city). Elevation, coordinates, founding, crime rate (only a search snippet supported roughly 857 per 100k), commercial airport status, hotel rates, rent, cost-of-living index and events dates are approximate or from general knowledge, not verified this session. Visitor site and events calendar loaded.
