How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Topeka, KS
125,467 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 2071000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Topeka ranked #230 of 340 cities and 14th of 14 in its peer group, on 9 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Topeka and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Evansville IN, Wichita Falls TX, Rockford IL, Amarillo TX, Peoria IL, Abilene TX, Columbia MO, Midland TX, Greeley CO, Billings MT, Sioux Falls SD, Springfield MO, Huntsville AL · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #230 of 340 cities · 14th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #208 | #258 | #177 | #179 | #129 | #221 | #223 | #231 | #219 | #109 | #223 | #197 | #232 | #257 | #194 | #222 | #161 | #249 | #230 | #200 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 124,201 | 124,762 | 125,384 | 126,085 | 126,819 | 127,914 | 128,228 | 128,095 | 127,725 | 127,489 | 127,396 | 126,948 | 126,517 | 125,778 | 125,310 | 126,430 | 126,162 | 125,426 | 125,354 | 125,467 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #105 of 340 cities · 8th of 14 in its peer group | -0.3 | +0.0 | +0.0 | +0.1 | +0.1 | — | -0.2 | -0.4 | -0.6 | -0.5 | -0.3 | -0.6 | -0.3 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.4 | +0.1 | +0.0 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #229 of 271 cities with data · 12th of 13 in its peer group with data | 4.8 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #45 of 340 cities · 4th of 14 in its peer group | 19.1% | 18.3% | 16.7% | 19.7% | 19.7% | 20.2% | 22.1% | 20.1% | 19.6% | 19.8% | 20.4% | 19.4% | 19.0% | 22.6% | 19.5% | — | 20.6% | 21.1% | 21.4% | 20.0% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #269 of 304 cities with data · 14th of 14 in its peer group | 5.6 | 7.2 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 9.4 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 8.6 | 4.7 | 8.6 | 13.4 | 21.3 | 11.1 | 10.4 | — | 12.7 | 10.4 | 20.7 | 15.9 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #247 of 295 cities with data · 10th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 199.3 | 205.0 | 169.8 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 85,053 | 80,405 | 83,403 | 88,335 | 88,331 | 89,541 | 87,549 | 85,120 | 85,099 | 88,608 | 88,079 | 90,276 | 89,599 | 88,736 | 88,478 | 87,038 | 87,783 | 88,480 | 89,019 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #212 of 329 cities with data · 8th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | -0.4 | -1.5 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.4 | -0.3 | -2.9 | -2.6 | +0.5 | +3.6 | -1.0 | +0.6 | +0.3 | -0.8 | +0.4 | +0.3 | -0.4 | -0.7 | -0.7 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 59,329 | 58,200 | 57,244 | 59,105 | 59,655 | 59,971 | 60,312 | 59,040 | 63,753 | — | 59,323 | 55,782 | 59,634 | 61,681 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #164 of 340 cities · 9th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8.8% | 7.9% | 9.6% | 5.1% | 7.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 5.0% | 3.8% | — | 3.4% | 5.6% | 4.0% | 4.8% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #3 of 314 cities with data · 2nd of 14 in its peer group | -10% | 3% | -4% | 12% | 26% | 20% | 40% | 34% | 35% | 34% | 34% | 29% | 26% | 28% | 28% | 28% | 23% | 32% | 35% | 54% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #234 of 314 cities with data · 12th of 14 in its peer group | $6,036 | $5,877 | $6,143 | $5,903 | $5,929 | $5,274 | $3,806 | $3,725 | $4,260 | $4,105 | $4,015 | $3,366 | $3,966 | $3,334 | $3,973 | $6,560 | $4,707 | $3,861 | $3,736 | $4,223 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Topeka. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.