The moderately conservative district is a combination of rural farm communities and urbanized areas, including the state capital, Topeka. Two-thirds of district residents live in the Topeka area. Republicans do well in the district's rural regions, while Democrats are more successful in Topeka and the state's blue-collar southeast corner. The 2nd's economy has experienced slow but steady growth, and unemployment is low. Most of the district's jobs revolve around agriculture, particularly wheat.
State government is Topeka's largest employer.
Fort Riley, in Riley County, and Fort Leavenworth also add to the 2nd's economy, although Fort Riley suffered a round of cutbacks in the mid-1990s.