Financial Literacy in Latham, KS
About 98 people live in Latham, Kansas. The population has declined 1% since 2020, from 99 to 98. The median age is 23.7, young enough that a large share of residents are making first-time decisions about credit, leases and retirement accounts.
1.7% of Latham residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That sits 18.5 points below the Kansas average of 20.2%. Put the other way round: of the 60 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 59 — 98.3% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.
Kansas has committed to 1 semester of personal finance as a graduation requirement, phasing in with the class of 2027 — so today's middle schoolers will be the first cohort held to it. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Latham, is most of the people reading this.
Latham by the numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Population (2024) | 98 |
| Change since 2020 | -1% |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree | 1.7% |
| Adults 25+ with a high school diploma | 68.3% |
| Median age | 23.7 |
| Poverty rate | 69.2% |
| Unemployment rate | 76.5% |
| Median home value | $27,500 |
| Land area | 0.217 sq mi |
| Population density | 452 / sq mi |
What Kansas teaches — and to whom
LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to; Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used.
Where to start in Latham
Build a buffer before anything else
With 69.2% of Latham 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.
Get the first-decade decisions right
A median age of 23.7 means a large share of Latham is making decisions with thirty-year consequences: the first credit card, the first lease, whether to take the employer match. These are cheap to get right now and expensive to unwind later.
Treat income stability as a skill
Unemployment in Latham sits at 76.5%. Where work is less certain, the practical skills are the defensive ones: what unemployment insurance actually pays and how fast, how to read a severance agreement, and which bills to triage first when income stops.
Questions people ask about Latham
Do high school students in Latham, Kansas have to take a personal finance class?
Yes — Kansas has adopted a standalone requirement, phasing in with the graduating class of 2027. Students graduating before then are not covered.
How many adults in Latham, Kansas have a college degree?
1.7% 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 98.3% are managing their finances without one.
Where can adults in Latham, Kansas 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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