Topeka serves as the capital for Kansas and is America’s 28th-most highly populated state capital city. Topeka originates from a term meaning “a good place to dig potatoes” and linguistically traces back to a Sioux Indian dialect.

A popular nickname for Topeka is Golden City referring to sunshine pouring down on its hills and valleys as well as soil color. Other nicknames for Topeka are T-Town and Top City. The official moniker for Kansas is The Sunflower State.

Topeka was the site of the historic class-action lawsuit filed by 13 African-American parents against Topeka’s Board of Education protesting the school policy of segregating their children. As a result, Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled on May 17, 1954 that schools were no longer to be segregated by race.

Research website numbeo lacks sufficient data to rank the Kansan capital on its comprehensive global quality of life rating which benchmarks 250 cities worldwide. Numbeo does evaluate Topeka on several individual factors. For instance, Topeka rates relatively well for traffic commute time (fastest), property price to income ratio (lowest) and pollution (cleanest 35%). However, Topeka’s scores are relatively poor for health care (worst 13%), safety (most dangerous 17%) and climate (worst 26%).

Topeka was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the starting point for the costliest hailstorm ever, known as the Tristate Hailstorm. Hailstones as large as 2.75 inches (7 centimeters) in diameter caused up to an estimated US$3 billion in overall economic damage.

In addition to hailstorms, tornadoes also pose a significant meteorological risk to Topeka residents.

Topeka’s biggest employer is the State of Kansas.

From an international trade perspective, Kansas state exported U$11.615 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include civilian aircraft including engines and other parts (19.2% of global exports from Kansas), fresh or chilled beef (7.5%), wheat (4.9%), soya beans (4.6%), frozen beef (2.5%), radio navigational aids (2.1%), corn (2%), dog or cat food (1.5%), grain sorghum (1.4%), and new rubber tires (1.1%) to United States Census Bureau data.

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Topeka was 7.2% as of June 2020, up from 3.2% one year earlier.

Capital Facts for Topeka, United States: Quick Reference

 
Topekans celebrate Independence Day as a national holiday each July 4.

Topeka’s land area occupies 61.44 square miles (159.14 square kilometers). The state capital’s population was 125,092 Topekans at August 22, 2020.

At the state level, Kansas covers a land area measuring 81,759 square miles (211,754 square kilometers). It is home to 2.9 million people in August 2020.

Topeka’s population density is more concentrated averaging 2,036 residents per square mile (786 per square kilometer).

Zooming out to state land boundaries, population density for Kansas dilutes to an average 36 inhabitants per square mile (14 per square kilometer).