Life Skills and Money Education in Bearden, AR
About 737 people live in Bearden, Arkansas. It has lost residents since 2020, slipping 4.7% from 773 down to 737. The median age is 44.1.
Among adults 25 and older in Bearden, 6.8% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That sits 7.3 points below the Arkansas average of 14.1%. Flip that figure and it describes 93.2% of the 514 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, about 479 people whose money skills came from somewhere other than a university.
Median household income is $28,143. That is $19,357 below the Arkansas median. Roughly 52% of residents live below the poverty line, which puts real weight on decisions about credit, rent and emergency savings. The median home is valued at $76,100, roughly 2.7× median household income.
Bearden by the numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Population (2024) | 737 |
| Change since 2020 | -4.7% |
| Median household income | $28,143 |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree | 6.8% |
| Adults 25+ with a high school diploma | 84.6% |
| Median age | 44.1 |
| Poverty rate | 52% |
| Unemployment rate | 0% |
| Median home value | $76,100 |
| Land area | 1.614 sq mi |
| Population density | 457 / sq mi |
What Arkansas teaches — and to whom
Arkansas requires personal finance instruction, but folds it into another course rather than a class of its own — so how much a student actually gets depends heavily on the district and the teacher. Coverage like that varies enormously between districts, and it reaches no one who has already graduated.
LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to; Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used.
Where to start in Bearden
Build a buffer before anything else
With 52% of Bearden living below the poverty line, the single highest-return skill here is cash-flow control: knowing what actually lands each month, what leaves automatically, and how to build even a small buffer between the two. A few hundred dollars of slack is the difference between a car repair being an inconvenience and it being a payday loan.
Understand what a shrinking tax base changes
Bearden has lost 4.7% of its population since 2020. Declining places tend to see slower home appreciation and tighter municipal budgets, which makes the buy-versus-rent calculation genuinely different here than the national advice assumes.
Questions people ask about Bearden
Do high school students in Bearden, Arkansas have to take a personal finance class?
Arkansas requires personal finance content, but delivers it inside another course rather than a dedicated class, so the depth varies by district and teacher.
How many adults in Bearden, Arkansas have a college degree?
6.8% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 93.2% are managing their finances without one.
What is the median household income in Bearden, Arkansas?
$28,143, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.
Where can adults in Bearden, Arkansas learn personal finance?
Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.
Start with whichever one is costing you money right now.
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