Financial Literacy in Pulaski County, Missouri

Pulaski County, Missouri is home to about 53,964 people, among the larger counties in Missouri, ranking 22nd of 115 by population. Its population has held essentially flat since 2020, moving less than a percent either way. The median age is 27.5, young enough that a large share of residents are making first-time decisions about credit, leases and retirement accounts.

27.9% of Pulaski County residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That runs 12.6 points above the Missouri average of 15.3%. Put the other way round: of the 29,423 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 21,214 — 72.1% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.

The typical household here earns $66,435 a year. That is $13,102 above the Missouri median. About 12.8% of residents live below the poverty line. The median home is valued at $189,700, roughly 2.9× median household income.

Pulaski County by the numbers

Measure	Value
Population (2024)	53,964
Change since 2020	-0.1%
Median household income	$66,435
Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree	27.9%
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma	94.1%
Median age	27.5
Poverty rate	12.8%
Unemployment rate	5%
Median home value	$189,700
Land area	547.112 sq mi
Population density	99 / sq mi

What Missouri teaches — and to whom

Missouri already requires 1 semester of personal finance for a high school diploma, a rule in force since the graduating class of 2010. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Pulaski County, is most of the people reading this.

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 Pulaski County

Get the first-decade decisions right

A median age of 27.5 means a large share of Pulaski County 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 Pulaski County

Do high school students in Pulaski County, Missouri have to take a personal finance class?

Yes. Missouri requires 1 semester to graduate, in force since the class of 2010.

How many adults in Pulaski County, Missouri have a college degree?

27.9% 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 72.1% are managing their finances without one.

What is the median household income in Pulaski County, Missouri?

$66,435, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.

Where can adults in Pulaski County, Missouri 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.

Browse the LearnLife catalog

Nearby in Missouri

All Missouri locations →

Population and demographic figures: U.S. Census Bureau — 2024 Gazetteer, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates, and the American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Graduation-requirement status: NGPF Live U.S. Dashboard, read 2026-09-14. Figures marked as unavailable are suppressed by the Census Bureau for small populations.