Elevation of Topeka
948ft
above sea level · 289 m
Topeka is the capital of Kansas. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 14th highest. The state’s largest city is Wichita.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 39.05° N · 95.68° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 39° 2′ 54″ N · 95° 40′ 41″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 15S · 268,244 E · 4,325,554 N
- Zone 15 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 125,795 people
- 61.9 sq mi of land · 2,032 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from May 2015: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Topeka had 125,795 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 0.6% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 126,609. Its 61.9 sq mi of land work out to 2,032 people/sq mi; the state average is 36 people/sq mi.
It’s the 5th most populous of the 740 places the Census counts in Kansas (cities, towns and CDPs), after Wichita (400,987), and holds 4.2% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Shawnee County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.4 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Topeka sits at 948 ft (289 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Topeka is 150 ft below it.
The highest point in Kansas is Mount Sunflower, at 4,039 ft according to the USGS: 3,091 ft above Topeka, 341 mi away in a straight line.
- 14 Topeka 948 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Topeka.
What is the elevation of Topeka?
Topeka is 948 feet (289 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Topeka?
Latitude 39.04833 and longitude -95.67804, in decimal degrees (39° 2′ 54″ N · 95° 40′ 41″ W). In UTM, zone 15: 268,244 E and 4,325,554 N, on NAD83.
How does Topeka rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 14th highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Topeka in?
Shawnee County, Kansas.
Which is higher, Topeka or Kansas City?
Topeka. Topeka sits at 948 ft and Kansas City at 898 ft: a difference of 50 ft, 59 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know