Topeka, KS vs Lawrence, KS
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Lawrence spends 71.5% more per capita than Topeka ($36,136/person difference). Topeka, KS has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 87/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $823 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $182 | $452 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,646 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,030 | $610 |
| Charges & Fees | $6,883 | $2,976 |
| Other | $4,080 | $5,396 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $190 | $701 |
| Highways & Roads | $353 | $152 |
| Education | $0 | $50 |
| Public Welfare | $3,253 | $1,409 |
| Health | $0 | $528 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $201 |
| Parks & Recreation | $55 | $1,334 |
| Housing | $3,032 | $2,611 |
| Utilities | $3,548 | $3,966 |
| Interest on Debt | $663 | $301 |
| General Admin | $0 | $32,300 |
| Other | $3,342 | $7,016 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.