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Statistics

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Home News Media Center Statistics

Statistics

Members of the Media: If you have questions about the statistics below, would like additional information or data, or would like to interview an expert, please contact NFDA's Public Relations team.

  • According to the National Directory of Morticians Redbook, the number of funeral homes in the U.S. is:
    • 2019: 19,136
    • 2018: 19,177
    • 2017: 19,322
    • 2016: 19,352
    • 2015: 19,391
    • 2014: 19,486
    • 2013: 19,624
    • 2012: 19,680
    • 2011: 19,841
    • 2010: 19,902
    • 2009: 20,557
  • Approximately 89.2% of funeral homes in the United States are privately owned by families or individuals. The remaining 10.8% are owned by publicly-traded corporations. (Service Corporation International (SCI) owns approximately 10.8% and Carriage Services Inc. and StoneMor Partners own approximately 1% each).2
  • The average NFDA-member funeral home handles 113 calls per year and has three full-time and four part-time employees.3
  • NFDA-member Firm Caseload (i.e., number of decedents cared for): 58.4% of NFDA members handled 150 cases or less; 24.5% reported 151-350 cases; 8.6% reported 351-500 cases; 5.2% reported 501-1000; 3.3% reported 1001 or more.3

     

     

    1997

    2002

    2007

    2012

    Revenue ($ Millions) 1
     

    Cemeteries and Crematories

    $2,988

    $3,231

    $3,350

    $3,319

    Funeral Homes and Funeral Services

    $9,633

    $11,049

    $11,943

    $13,004

    TOTAL

    $12,621

    $14,280

    $15,293

    $16,323

     

     

     

     

     

    Employment1

    Cemeteries and Crematories

    59,458

    41,932

    35,035

    32,617

    Funeral Homes and Funeral Services

    105,365

    106,263

    102,978

    108,385

    TOTAL

    164,823

    148,195

    138,013

    141,002

 

Funeral Professionals: Contact our member services department (800-228-6332) to purchase a copy of the report from the 2017 General Price List Survey; the report can also be purchased online.

Members of the Media: Please contact NFDA for a regional breakdown of the cost of a funeral with burial and funeral with cremation and further information about the 2017 General Price List Survey.

Median Cost of a Funeral With Viewing and Burial4

Since the 1960s, NFDA has calculated the median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial by totaling the costs of the following items: basic services fee, removal/transfer of remains to funeral home, embalming, other preparation of the body (casketing, cosmetology, dressing and grooming), a metal casket, use of facilities for a viewing, use of facilities for a funeral ceremony, use of a hearse, use of a service car/van, and a basic memorial printed package (e.g., memorial cards, register book, etc.).

The national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial for calendar year 2019 was $7,640. If a vault is included, something that is typically required by a cemetery, the median cost is $9,135. The cost does not take into account cemetery, monument or marker costs or miscellaneous cash-advance charges, such as for flowers or an obituary.

Many factors contribute to the final determination of how an individual firm prices its goods and services, including the firm's business philosophy and the market in which it operates. 

 

National Median Cost of an Adult Funeral with Viewing and Burial: 2019 vs. 2014

Item

2019*

2014*

Nondeclinable basic services fee

$2,195

$2,000

Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home

$350

$310

Embalming

$750

$695

Other preparation of the body

$255

$250

Use of facilities for viewing

$425

$420

Use of facilities for funeral ceremony

$500

$495

Hearse

$340

$318

Service car/van

$150

$143

Basic memorial printed package

$175

$155

Metal casket

$2,500

$2,395

Median Cost of a Funeral With Viewing and Burial

$7,640

$7,181

Vault

$1,495

$1,327

Total with vault

$9,135

$8,508

2014 prices have not been adjusted for inflation.

* Median Price – The amount at which half of the figures fall below and half are above.

 

National Median Cost of a Funeral With Viewing and Cremation4

The national median cost of a funeral with viewing and cremation in 2019 was $5150.

NFDA calculated the median cost of a cost of an adult funeral with cremation by totaling the costs of the following items: basic services fee, removal/transfer of remains to funeral home, embalming, other preparation of the body, use of facilities for viewing, use of facilities for a funeral ceremony, use of a service car/van, basic memorial printed package, cremation fee. The cost does not take into account the cost of a cremation casket, rental casket or cremation container; urn; miscellaneous cash advance charges; or cemetery costs for families that chose to bury or inter their loved one's cremated remains.

National Median Cost of an Adult Funeral with Viewing and Cremation

Item

 2019*

2014*

Nondeclinable basic services fee

$2,195

$2,000

Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home

$350

$310

Embalming

$750

$695

Other preparation of the body

$255 

$250

Use of facilities for viewing

$425

$420

Use of facilities for funeral ceremony

$500

$495

 Service car/van

$150

$143

Basic memorial printed package

$175

$155

Cremation fee (if firm uses a third-party crematory)**

$350

$330

Median Cost of a Funeral with Viewing and Cremation

$5,150

$4,798

Related median costs (2019)

  • Cremation casket - $1,200
  • Rental casktet - $995
  • Alternative cremation container - $150
  • Urn - $295

* Median Price – The amount at which half of the figures fall below and half are above.

**65.3% of respondents use a third-party crematory (i.e., the funeral home does not own a crematory)

 

According to the 2020 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report, in 2020, the projected burial rate is 37.5% (down 7.7% from 2015) and projected cremation rate is 56.0% (up 8.1% from 2015). 5

News Release: The Future of Funerals: COVID-19 Restrictions Force Funeral Directors to Adapt, Propelling the Profession Forward (July 15, 2020)

Funeral professionals may order a digital copy of the 2020 Cremation & Burial Report through NFDA’s online store (www.nfda.org/store). The report is a free to members and $175 for nonmembers. Funeral professionals who have questions about the report or placing an order can call NFDA at 800-228-6332. 

Members of the Media: Please contact NFDA for a state-by-state breakdown of the rates of cremation and burial and further information about the latest NFDA Cremation and Burial Report.

Historic Rates of Cremation and Burial and Future Projections5:

   2010
(final data)   
 2015
(final data)   
 2020
(projected data)
 2025
(projected data)
2030
(projected data)
2035
(projected data)
2040 
(projected data) 
 Burial (%) 53.3 45.2 37.9 30.9 24.8 19.8 16.0
 Cremation (%) 40.4  47.9 56.0 63.3 69.5 74.5 78.4

 

All data published on this page is based on the latest available government, industry, and research reports; data is updated as new information becomes available. The data on this page was last updated on July 18, 2019.

  1. U.S. Census Bureau Economic Census (conducted every five years):
  2. McGinley, D. (February, 2019). IBISWorld Industry Report 81221 Funeral Homes in the U.S. IBISWorld.
  3. 2018 NFDA Member Needs and Satisfaction Survey, November 2018, National Funeral Directors Association. Brookfield, WI.
  4. NFDA 2019 General Price List Survey. National Funeral Directors Association. Brookfield, WI.
  5. NFDA 2020 Cremation and Burial Report. National Funeral Directors Association. Brookfield, WI.

 

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