Life Skills and Money Education in Latimer, KS
With a population of roughly 30, Latimer, Kansas is the 604th-largest of 625 incorporated places in Kansas. It has lost residents since 2020, slipping 3.2% from 31 down to 30. At a median age of 15.8, much of the population is still early in the decisions — first lease, first card, first paycheck deduction — that set financial habits for decades.
Among adults 25 and older in Latimer, 6.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That sits 13.7 points below the Kansas average of 20.2%. Flip that figure and it describes 93.5% of the 31 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, about 29 people whose money skills came from somewhere other than a university.
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 Latimer, is most of the people reading this.
Latimer by the numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Population (2024) | 30 |
| Change since 2020 | -3.2% |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree | 6.5% |
| Adults 25+ with a high school diploma | 93.5% |
| Median age | 15.8 |
| Poverty rate | 83.3% |
| Unemployment rate | 40% |
| Median home value | $63,600 |
| Land area | 0.06 sq mi |
| Population density | 500 / sq mi |
What Kansas teaches — and to whom
LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used; 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.
Where to start in Latimer
Build a buffer before anything else
With 83.3% of Latimer 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 15.8 means a large share of Latimer 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 Latimer sits at 40%. 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 Latimer
Do high school students in Latimer, 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 Latimer, Kansas have a college degree?
6.5% 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 93.5% are managing their finances without one.
Where can adults in Latimer, 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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