Financial Literacy in Leona, KS
With a population of roughly 36, Leona, Kansas is the 595th-largest of 625 incorporated places in Kansas. Its population has held essentially flat since 2020, moving less than a percent either way. The median age is 27.9, young enough that a large share of residents are making first-time decisions about credit, leases and retirement accounts.
2.9% of Leona residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That sits 17.3 points below the Kansas average of 20.2%. Put the other way round: of the 34 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 33 — 97.1% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.
The typical household here earns $40,313 a year. That is $19,375 below the Kansas median. Roughly 40.8% of residents live below the poverty line, which puts real weight on decisions about credit, rent and emergency savings.
Leona by the numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Population (2024) | 36 |
| Change since 2020 | 0% |
| Median household income | $40,313 |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree | 2.9% |
| Adults 25+ with a high school diploma | 38.2% |
| Median age | 27.9 |
| Poverty rate | 40.8% |
| Unemployment rate | 0% |
| Land area | 0.063 sq mi |
| Population density | 571 / sq mi |
What Kansas teaches — and to whom
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 Leona, is most of the people reading this.
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 Leona
Build a buffer before anything else
With 40.8% of Leona 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 27.9 means a large share of Leona 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.
Questions people ask about Leona
Do high school students in Leona, 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 Leona, Kansas have a college degree?
2.9% 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 97.1% are managing their finances without one.
What is the median household income in Leona, Kansas?
$40,313, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.
Where can adults in Leona, 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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