Topeka is the capital of Kansas, a city of 163,100 in Shawnee County · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Topeka?
Topeka grades B for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Theft makes up 46% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades A-.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 648 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
30% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Topeka as a whole, and 70% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Topeka scores 648.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Topeka, KS at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Topeka, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Topeka
Car thefts run high in Central Topeka 2, Central Park & Old Town Topeka. In this part of central Topeka, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Topeka.
Burglaries and acts of vandalism both run high. In Topeka, each runs at more than double the US rate: 5.3 burglaries and 14.8 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 and 5.5 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Topeka
Most of Topeka grades well for property crime: 65% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 12% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Topeka run from A+ to F.
65%23%12%
A or B 65%C 23%D or F 12%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Southwest Topeka, southwestBurglaries run at about half the rate in the rest of Topeka.A-788
4Oakland, North Topeka East & North Topeka 2, northeastCar thefts run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Topeka.B661
5North Topeka West, Central Topeka 1 & West Meade, northClose to the rest of Topeka on most crimes.B626
6South Southeast 1, southBurglaries run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Topeka.B-613
7East Topeka North, East End & East Topeka South, eastBurglaries run at about double the rate in the rest of Topeka.C400
8Central Topeka 2, Central Park & Old Town Topeka, centralBurglaries run at about double the rate in the rest of Topeka.C-381
Neighborhood areas of Topeka, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Topeka?
Reported property crime in Topeka has fallen 28% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 50 to 36 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 11%.
Property crime, change since 2019
TopekaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Topeka. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Topeka
Property, US
2016
+12%
+15%
2017
+2%
+12%
2018
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-14%
-8%
2021
-16%
-10%
2022
-26%
-6%
2023
-19%
-7%
2024
-28%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Topeka
CrimeGrade™ estimates Topeka has about 45 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 89% more than the US as a whole and 34% more than Kansas.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Topeka, about 46% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Topeka
Topeka has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Topeka, 71% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 58% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (71%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Topeka and nearby cities
Topeka has the most property crime of its 4 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Topeka apart: it has 3.5 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 6% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with a lot of parking-lot space tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 91% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.61 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (18 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 50% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.6% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 71% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.85% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 66% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 64% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Topeka on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Topeka
Property crime costs Topeka about $53 million a year, or $326 per resident and about $787 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$7.7 million
$47
Theft
$17 million
$106
Vehicle theft
$10 million
$62
Arson
$910,000
$6
Vandalism
$17 million
$104
Total
$53 million
$326
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
