Kansas · 205th largest metro area

Buying a home in Topeka, Kansas

In Topeka, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $144,200, Shawnee County's effective property tax rate is 1.5%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $3,432 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $979 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Topeka home costs, fact by fact

About Topeka

With 125,467 residents, Topeka is a city in Kansas and part of the Topeka, KS metro area. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Shawnee County is $1,172, while the median gross rent in Topeka is $979 per month.

Reading the Topeka figures

Topeka sits at the low end of the Kansas cities covered here. Owners put the median home at $144,200, while the state figure is $252,600. Kansas City, the next lowest of those named, comes to $167,400, and Wichita to $190,800. Olathe jumps to $364,700 and Overland Park to $413,600. Rent is less spread out: Topeka's $979 is within a few dollars of Wichita's $975, whereas Kansas City asks $1,123, then Olathe asks $1,314 and Overland Park asks $1,515. Owners make up 59% of households, level with Wichita (58.9%) and well under Olathe's 74.8%.

The county tax line needs a close read. Shawnee County's effective rate is 1.5%, set against a median value of $180,900 across the county, which comes to $2,705 a year. A low purchase price does not shrink that rate, so a buyer in Topeka should price the tax as carefully as the mortgage.

HUD's benchmark rent in the Topeka, KS MSA is $1,172, with $1,564 for the larger home. Both exceed the city's median rent of $979, though a HUD figure is a benchmark and not a market median. Lenders in the county recorded 1,484 loans in 2025 at a typical cost of $3,432, with most falling between $2,760 and $5,917. Topeka's metro area, ranked 205th, holds 232,648 people, 125,467 of them in the city proper.

Calculate for Kansas

If you buy

Kansas state transfer tax

Kansas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$252,600
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Kansas median value of owner-occupied homes, $252,600 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No tax is calculated on the price. Recording fees are per page. Who pays: No tax to pay. No statute read assigns the recording fees to buyer or seller; the contract and closing statement decide. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, the tax on the mortgage, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Kansas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Kansas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Topeka

How much is property tax in Topeka?

Homeowners in Shawnee County pay a median $2,705 a year in property tax, 1.5% of the county median home value of $180,900 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Topeka?

Home-purchase mortgages in Shawnee County carried median total loan costs of $3,432 in 2025; half of the 1,484 loans fell between $2,760 and $5,917 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Topeka?

No Kansas transfer tax was found in the statutes and county fee schedule read. The old mortgage registration tax of 0.26% of the loan was repealed in 2019, and what remains is a recording fee of $21 for the first page and $17 for each added page in Johnson County.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Topeka?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Topeka ($144,200) equals 12.3 years of the median gross rent ($979 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Kansas rules that apply in Topeka

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Sources

Kansas · All states · Federal guides