2025 Compare Cities Economy:
West Des Moines, IA vs Topeka, KS

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Highlights
- Household income in Topeka, is 34% less than it is in West Des Moines and is 36% below the National Average.
- West Des Moines unemployment rate is 3.3%.
- Topeka unemployment rate is 3.9%.
 West Des Moines, IATopeka, KSUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.9%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-0.5%1.6%
 Future Job Growth35.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.7%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$49,286  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$50,870$69,021
 Family Median Income$105,485  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 West Des Moines, IATopeka, KSUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock11.4%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.0%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock11.1%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K8.3%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock11.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.7%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.3%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K14.0%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock14.0%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K8.8%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock2.9%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 West Des Moines, IATopeka, KSUnited States
 Management, business, finance23.2%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock5.6%6.5%
 Community, social services2.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.2%1.2%
 Education, library6.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock4.2%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.4%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.1%5.4%
 Building maintenance1.8%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.0%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support21.2%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.5%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock14.7%13.1%
Reviews for West Des Moines    4 Reviews

Over 16 years ago

I just moved here from out-of-state a few months ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the broad range of activities and amenities available in this medium sized IA  More

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Over 16 years ago

Am contemplating a move to WDM from the East Coast (NYC). Might there be anyone out there that may have experienced this and could offer guidance or comment. Thanks.   More

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We just moved to West Des Moines and we love it here! We moved here three months ago and every weekend we have been able to do something different and fun. There is  More

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Reviews for Topeka    28 Reviews

Loretta Lynn says that in  More

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I live in Topeka this town is awful A lot of crime has been happening here. I don't suggest moving here. This town is also dying out it's mostly old people, meth  More

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Over 7 years ago

I lived in Topeka most of my life until moving to Katy, Texas...which is a premiere suburb of Houston. Topeka is genuinely missed as it is a superb community to raise a  More

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