Topeka, KS, Kansas: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+10%. Republican peak: R+51 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+10MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 232,4682024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,4832024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 78.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 11.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+14 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Topeka, KS, KSOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 47,990 | 59,565 | 110,420 | ||
| R | 51,190 | 59,844 | 113,960 | ||
| R | 40,485 | 52,284 | 101,557 | ||
| R | 45,039 | 52,819 | 100,255 | ||
| R | 50,655 | 57,722 | 110,445 | ||
| R | 45,119 | 60,657 | 107,325 | ||
| R | 43,363 | 49,270 | 97,533 | ||
| R | 41,011 | 46,679 | 99,321 | ||
| D | 39,297 | 37,698 | 106,411 | ||
| R | 43,017 | 47,086 | 91,166 | ||
| R | 32,872 | 58,019 | 91,904 | ||
| R | 31,106 | 49,619 | 88,750 | ||
| R | 37,286 | 47,917 | 87,353 | ||
| R | 24,995 | 57,303 | 84,170 | ||
| R | 26,674 | 41,735 | 77,882 | ||
| D | 38,687 | 34,970 | 74,058 | ||
| R | 28,224 | 46,666 | 75,103 | ||
| R | 21,971 | 46,579 | 68,752 | ||
| R | 23,192 | 49,113 | 72,604 | ||
| R | 28,135 | 35,736 | 64,933 | ||
| R | 20,905 | 35,511 | 56,717 | ||
| R | 28,382 | 40,990 | 69,745 | ||
| D | 35,771 | 34,217 | 70,234 | ||
| R | 29,762 | 32,103 | 63,238 | ||
| R | 13,883 | 43,343 | 57,589 | ||
| R | 10,521 | 36,644 | 52,141 | ||
| R | 13,510 | 29,396 | 43,584 | ||
| R | 21,283 | 25,669 | 48,673 | ||
| D | 11,293 | 7,407 | 28,690 | ||
| R | 12,250 | 16,545 | 29,638 | ||
| R | 6,763 | 19,210 | 27,530 | ||
| R | 12,696 | 17,253 | 30,343 | ||
| R | 14,690 | 15,927 | 30,922 | ||
| O | 0 | 12,463 | 27,462 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
23.4%
English
16.9%
Irish
11.7%
American
5.1%
Italian
1.9%
Scottish
1.8%
French
1.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$69,483
Topeka, KS ranks near the middle of US counties.
Topeka, KS$69,483
Kansas$74,275
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.2%
Working age (18–64)11.0%
Seniors (65+)10.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Spanish4.5%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 59.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Shawnee County, the metro's core, has shifted between parties in statewide races by single digits over recent cycles, making Topeka a reliable bellwether for Kansas contests that drift from their deeply red baseline.
The Democratic margin in Topeka, KS peaked at fourteen points in 1912. By 1996 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was ten points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $69,483 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Topeka, KS, Kansas — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/45820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Topeka, KS, Kansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Topeka, KS, Kansas voted Republican by 10.5 points (R+10), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 110,420 votes cast, 47,990 went Democratic and 59,565 went Republican.
What is Topeka, KS, Kansas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Topeka, KS, Kansas as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 29 times, and other 1 times.
When did Topeka, KS, Kansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Topeka, KS, Kansas voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Topeka, KS, Kansas?
Topeka, KS, Kansas has a population of 232,468 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Topeka, KS, Kansas?
Median household income in Topeka, KS, Kansas is $69,483 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kansas state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of Topeka, KS, Kansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Topeka, KS, Kansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.