Akashic
1876–2024
Topeka, KS·Kansas

Topeka, KS has voted Republican in eight straight presidential elections — R+10.5 in 2024.

Kansas's capital anchors a metro that swings closer than its rural surroundings

2008 — 2024·5 elections
KS
2024 presidential election
Topeka, KS
TrumpR+10.5
—
2024 presidential margin by county for Topeka, KS, KSA map of the constituent counties of Topeka, KS, KS, each outlined and filled by its 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), seated within the faint outlines of the surrounding states.Jackson County, KS · R+42.4Jefferson County, KS · R+36.7Osage County, KS · R+47.7Shawnee County, KS · D+0.5Wabaunsee County, KS · R+48.5
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican53.9%59,565
Kamala HarrisDemocratic43.5%47,990
OtherAll other candidates2.6%2,865
D+60
R+60
5 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −10.5% in 2024.flipped R · 1996−10.5%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892−53.1%
1896−4.0%
1900−15.0%
1904−45.2%
1908−14.5%
1912+13.5%
1916−9.0%
1920−36.4%
1924−50.1%
1928−51.2%
1932−3.7%
1936+2.2%
1940−18.1%
1944−25.8%
1948−11.7%
1952−35.7%
1956−35.8%
1960−24.6%
1964+5.0%
1968−19.3%
1972−38.4%
1976−12.2%
1980−20.9%
1984−27.4%
1988−4.5%
1992+1.5%
1996−5.7%
2000−6.1%
2004−14.5%
2008−6.4%
2012−7.8%
2016−11.6%
2020−7.6%
2024−10.5%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonDemocraticRepublicanOtherMarginTotal
R
43.5%Harris47,990
53.9%Trump59,565
2.6%
−10.5%
110,420
R
44.9%Biden51,190
52.5%Trump59,844
2.6%incl. Jorgensen
−7.6%
113,960
R
39.9%Clinton40,485
51.5%Trump52,284
8.7%incl. Johnson
−11.6%
101,557
R
44.9%Obama45,039
52.7%Romney52,819
2.4%
−7.8%
100,255
R
45.9%Obama50,655
52.3%McCain57,722
1.9%
−6.4%
110,445
R
42.0%Kerry45,119
56.5%Bush60,657
1.4%
−14.5%
107,325
R
44.5%Gore43,363
50.5%Bush49,270
5.0%incl. Nader
−6.1%
97,533
R
41.3%Clinton41,011
47.0%Dole46,679
11.7%incl. Perot
−5.7%
99,321
D
36.9%Clinton39,297
35.4%Bush37,698
27.6%incl. Perot
+1.5%
106,411
R
47.2%Dukakis43,017
51.6%Bush47,086
1.2%
−4.5%
91,166
R
35.8%Mondale32,872
63.1%Reagan58,019
1.1%
−27.4%
91,904
R
35.0%Carter31,106
55.9%Reagan49,619
9.0%incl. Anderson
−20.9%
88,750
R
42.7%Carter37,286
54.9%Ford47,917
2.5%
−12.2%
87,353
R
29.7%McGovern24,995
68.1%Nixon57,303
2.2%
−38.4%
84,170
R
34.2%Humphrey26,674
53.6%Nixon41,735
12.2%incl. Wallace
−19.3%
77,882
D
52.2%Johnson38,687
47.2%Goldwater34,970
0.5%
+5.0%
74,058
R
37.6%Kennedy28,224
62.1%Nixon46,666
0.3%
−24.6%
75,103
R
32.0%Stevenson21,971
67.7%Eisenhower46,579
0.3%
−35.8%
68,752
R
31.9%Stevenson23,192
67.6%Eisenhower49,113
0.4%
−35.7%
72,604
R
43.3%Truman28,135
55.0%Dewey35,736
1.6%incl. Thurmond
−11.7%
64,933
R
36.9%Roosevelt20,905
62.6%Dewey35,511
0.5%
−25.8%
56,717
R
40.7%Roosevelt28,382
58.8%Willkie40,990
0.5%
−18.1%
69,745
D
50.9%Roosevelt35,771
48.7%Landon34,217
0.4%
+2.2%
70,234
R
47.1%Roosevelt29,762
50.8%Hoover32,103
2.2%
−3.7%
63,238
R
24.1%Smith13,883
75.3%Hoover43,343
0.6%
−51.2%
57,589
R
20.2%Davis10,521
70.3%Coolidge36,644
9.5%incl. La Follette
−50.1%
52,141
R
31.0%Cox13,510
67.4%Harding29,396
1.6%
−36.4%
43,584
R
43.7%Wilson21,283
52.7%Hughes25,669
3.5%
−9.0%
48,673
D
39.4%Wilson11,293
25.8%Taft7,407
34.8%incl. Roosevelt
+13.5%
28,690
R
41.3%Bryan12,250
55.8%Taft16,545
2.8%
−14.5%
29,638
R
24.6%Parker6,763
69.8%Roosevelt19,210
5.7%
−45.2%
27,530
R
41.8%Bryan12,696
56.9%McKinley17,253
1.3%
−15.0%
30,343
R
47.5%Bryan14,690
51.5%McKinley15,927
1.0%
−4.0%
30,922
R
0.0%Cleveland0
53.1%Harrison14,570
46.9%incl. Weaver
−53.1%
27,462
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No data
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No data
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No data
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Demographics

Demographic profile

Demographic Profile

Key indicators compared across containing geographies

Demographic Profile. Key indicators compared across containing geographies. ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error. Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
IndicatorTopeka, KSMetro areaKansasStateUnited StatesNation
Race & Ethnicity
White78.3%76.0%61.0%
Black5.3%5.3%12.2%
Asian1.1%2.9%6.0%
Two or more races10.3%10.6%12.6%
Other race5.0%5.1%8.2%
Hispanic or Latino11.6%13.6%19.3%
Income & Age
Median household income$69,483$74,275$84,427
Poverty rate11.4%11.3%12.5%
Median age40.237.539.1
Age 18–248.3%10.2%9.2%
Age 65 and older19.7%16.9%17.2%
Education & Language
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)30.1%35.6%35.6%
Speaks a non-English language at home6.1%12.2%22.3%
Spanish4.5%8.1%13.6%
Ancestry
Largest ancestryGerman 23.4%German 23.3%German 12.5%
2nd-largest ancestryEnglish 16.9%English 12.4%Mexican 11.3%
3rd-largest ancestryIrish 11.7%Irish 11.3%English 9.5%
Religion
Catholic10.9%14.1%18.6%
Evangelical Protestant15.2%17.0%16.5%
Unaffiliated or unclaimed59.6%54.0%51.5%
Mainline Protestant9.6%10.0%5.2%

ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.

Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the origins and ancestries reported within it.
Reported ancestry · ACS B04006
German
23.4%
English
16.9%
Irish
11.7%
American
5.1%
Scottish
1.8%
Swedish
1.8%
Italian
1.8%
French
1.7%
Specific origin · ACS B03001
Mexican
9.3%
Puerto Rican
0.9%
Nicaraguan
0.2%
Spaniard
0.2%
The ACS does not publish subgroup detail for people reporting two or more races.
Reported ancestry · ACS B04006
African American identity is recorded by the ACS race question; the ancestry item enumerates specific African and Caribbean ancestries only.
African
0.3%
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other single-race responses combined.
Detailed group · ACS B02015
Asian Indian
0.4%
Chinese
0.2%
Filipino
0.2%
Korean
0.2%
Japanese
0.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Race shares: B02001 · B03003. Subgroup detail: B03001 (Hispanic or Latino specific origin), B02015 (Asian groups), B02020 · B02016 (American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and Pacific Islander groups), B04006 (reported ancestry). Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so group shares can total more than 100%. All subgroup rows are shares of total population; ancestry is self-reported and multiple-response, so rows do not sum to the parent group's share.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.8%
85+
1.4%
2.6%
75–84
3.1%
5.6%
65–74
6.2%
6.5%
55–64
7.0%
5.7%
45–54
5.7%
6.2%
35–44
6.3%
5.8%
25–34
5.9%
4.2%
18–24
4.1%
9.0%
5–17
8.5%
3.0%
<5
2.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$69,483
Topeka, KS$69,483
Kansas$74,275
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Spanish4.5%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Other languages0.2%
German or other West Germanic0.2%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)0.2%
Other Asian & Pacific Island0.2%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic0.2%
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)0.2%
Vietnamese0.1%
Korean0.1%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Evangelical Protestant
15.2%
Catholic
10.9%
Mainline Protestant
9.6%
Black Protestant
2.7%
Latter-day Saints
0.9%
Other Christian
0.6%
Muslim
0.2%
Buddhist
0.2%
Other faiths
0.1%
Jewish
0.1%
Orthodox Christian
0.1%
Unaffiliated or not counted59.6%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.

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.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 13.5 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 53.1 points in 1892. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 2.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 10.5 points.

A population of 232,468, a 78% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $69,483 describe the metro.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Topeka, KS, Kansas. Akashic. https://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+10.5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 110,420 votes cast, 47,990 went Democratic and 59,565 went Republican.
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 30 went Republican.