Topeka is the capital of Kansas. There are jobs with the state government and jobs in businesses connected with the state government. It's also a city of 125,000 people with the usual mix of jobs. Not extremely vibrant economically but not particularly depressed either. Just an ordinary small Midwestern city.
Lawrence is the home of the University of Kansas, and is only 30 minutes down the road from Topeka. Quite a few opportunities there, including startups. Kansas City is about 40 minutes away down the turnpike with the opportunities of a 2+ million metro area.
No, he's not going to make the sort of money you do in California, but he's not moving to some economic wasteland either. He won't have too much trouble pulling in 50-70,000 in some white collar job and, considering the cost of living, he'll be quite comfortable. Probably more comfortable than a 100k job in SF or LA.