Money

The Cost of Dying: Average Cost of Funerals and Cremation Fees

Data & Guides Money The Cost of Dying

Death and finances are not topics people often want to discuss, but it is something people should be aware of. Funerals and cremations are expensive and can be a surprisingly large bill for many.

This piece of research seeks to analyze the true cost of dying across the U.S. based on official data to find out just how much people are having to spend to say goodbye to their loved ones, and how this changes in each state.

Key statistics

• The average cost of dying in the U.S. in 2022 was $7,028 based on a blended average cost of burials and cremation services, calculated by the percentage of these end-of-life services performed across the country.
• Across all states, funerals cost an average of $8,526, while cremations cost $7,573.
• Across the U.S., funeral costs rose by $2,331 (37.63%) from 2006 to 2021, while cremations increased by $1,495 (24.6%) from 2014 to 2021.
• Hawaii is the most expensive state for funerals ($13,439) and cremations ($11,212).
• Mississippi is the most affordable state for funerals ($6,144) but Wyoming has the lowest cost for cremations ($5,219).
• Delaware has seen the highest cost increase in cremations from 2020 to 2022 (35.9%) as well as burial fees (32.8%).

Section 1: The current cost of dying in America

The national average cost of dying for all states is $7,028. This figure is based on a calculation proportional to the average number of cremations and burials. The data takes 2021 (the latest available) financial data from the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and has reviewed how the cost of living would have altered this data for the end of 2022 economic environment. 

According to the National Funeral Directors Association’s (NFDA) 2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report, [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf the U.S. cremation rate was expected to be 59.3% by the end of 2022, alongside a burial rate of 35.7%.

Using the NFDA data, the study applied a state-by-state price alteration based on the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) ‘Composite Cost of Living Index’ (2022 3rd quarter), [2] Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s Cost of Living Index (2022 3rd Quarter) https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series the research also looked at a state-by-state breakdown of the cost of dying in America. 

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of how much a funeral with burial would cost, compared to a cremation service in each state.

Which states cost the most to die in?

Burial and cremation data allows you to see where it may cost the most to die in the U.S. based on locally adjusted NFDA data.

Most expensive states for funerals

When it came to the cost of burials, the top five most costly states were found to be:

1. Hawaii ($13,439)
2. District of Columbia ($11,965)
3. Massachusetts ($11,814)
4. New York ($10,982)
5. California ($10,021)

Most expensive states for cremations

The top five most costly states for cremations features a nearly identical list of states with Maryland entering the top five in place of California.

1. Hawaii ($11,212)
2. District of Columbia ($10,845)
3. Massachusetts ($10,596)
4. New York ($10,127)
5. Maryland ($8,774)

In which states has the cost of dying increased the most?

By comparing the figures from 2020 when this research was last analyzed, the data also shows which states have seen the cost of dying increase the most over the pandemic.

Delaware costs have increased the most by an average of 34.4%, with burials increasing 32.8% and cremations 35.9% in the same time period. Massachusetts saw the second-highest average percentage increase (16.1%) with burials increasing by 16.3% and cremations 15.8%.

The states that have seen the highest percentage increase in the cost of dying are shown in the tables below.

Cost of burials (2020 vs 2022)

The following table shows the five states where average burial costs have increased the most from 2020 to 2022.

Cost of cremations (2020 vs 2022)

The following table shows the five states where average cremation costs have increased the most from 2020 to 2022.

Which states cost the least to die in?

The blended average cost proportional to the percentage of cremations and burials in the U.S. reveals that Wyoming is the most affordable state to die in, with these end-of-life services costing residents an average of $5,349.

Below, the data is analyzed at both a burial and cremation level to see what makes up such a figure.

Most affordable states for funerals

When reviewing the data solely by burial fees, the data reveals that Mississippi is more affordable than Wyoming, this however is not reflected in cremation cost data. See the top five most affordable states for funerals and burial fees below:

1. Mississippi ($6,144)
2. Wyoming ($6,314)
3. Alabama ($6,333)
4. Oklahoma ($6,359)
5. New Mexico ($6,461)

Most affordable states for cremations

Cremations are on average $953 cheaper than funerals with a burial, which is largely impacted by the price of caskets. When reviewing the data solely by the cost of cremations across the U.S. we can see that Wyoming is the most affordable ($5,219). 

The following five states were found to be the most affordable for cremations:

1. Wyoming ($5,219)
2. Mississippi ($5,335)
3. New Mexico ($5,341)
4. Alabama ($5,499)
5. Oklahoma ($5,553)

What is the average cost of a funeral service in the U.S.?

The national average from the National Funeral Directors Association, adjusted for 2022, for funerals with burials is just over $8,526. [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf At a state level, this ranges from $13,439 in Hawaii to $6,144 in Mississippi.

What is the average cost of cremations in the U.S.?

The national average cost for cremations in the U.S. from the NFDA [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf when adjusted for 2022 were found to be a little over $7,573. Cremations are at their most expensive in Hawaii ($11,212), and at their most affordable in Wyoming ($5,219).

Section 2: The rising cost of dying over time

To analyze the cost of dying over time and how this has changed, we used historical data shared with the Self Financial research team by the NFDA which looks at census regions and their cost averages. 

Funeral costs in the U.S. over time

States in the West North Central region (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota) saw the largest increase over time at 36.17%, while states in East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee) saw the lowest increase of 8.7% since 2006.

In previous years, West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas) states were the exception to this trend as average funeral costs fell from 2016 to 2019 by an average of $263. 

This has now changed with 2021 data showing the region’s states saw an increase higher than 2016’s high at $7,334. 

*Averages for Mountain/Pacific were recorded as one region until 2014 by the NFDA

Source [3] National Funeral Directors Association,‘2021 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Funeral Costs Not Rising as Fast as Rate of Inflation’ https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation in addition to non-public researched shared with Self Financial researchers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics separately discovered that the prices of burial caskets rose 230% from 1986 to 2017. This was 135% above the standard cost of living increases in the same time period.

Cremation costs in the U.S. over time

Nationally, NFDA data shows that there has been an increase in cremation costs of 24.6% from 2014, with the Middle Atlantic region (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) seeing the sharpest rise at 19.35% in the same time period. [3] National Funeral Directors Association,‘2021 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Funeral Costs Not Rising as Fast as Rate of Inflation’ https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation

States in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) saw the lowest rise in cremation prices at 4.8%, a much sharper increase than was seen from 2014-2019 (1.81%). Despite this, Massachusetts is still the third most expensive state in the U.S. for cremations, an outlier in the region. 

Source [3] National Funeral Directors Association,‘2021 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Funeral Costs Not Rising as Fast as Rate of Inflation’ https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation in addition to non-public researched shared with Self Financial researchers

Why do funerals and cremations cost so much?

Using the NFDA’s analysis of average figures [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf the study sought to further reveal what makes funerals and cremations so expensive. The following are breakdowns visualized from those datasets. 

Funeral cost breakdown in the U.S.

Average service fees alone are a staggering $2,195 to start, however, the casket fee is what drives the price of funerals much higher than cremations. The average price of a casket according to the NFDA is $2,500, compared with $295 for an urn for those who choose to be cremated. The breakdown of the average burial in the U.S. can be seen below. 

Item	Cost	%
Service fee	$2,300	29.3%
Transfer from funeral home	$350	4.5%
Embalming	$775	9.9%
Other preparation (grooming, casketing, dressing, etc.)	$275	3.5%
Facilities and staff (viewing)	$450	5.7%
Facilities and staff (ceremony)	$515	6.6%
Vehicles	$500	6.4%
Printed materials	$183	2.3%
Casket	$2,500	31.9%

Source [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf

Breakdown of average cremation fees

When it came to average cremation fees in the U.S., the largest spend was the service fee ($2,300), followed by the cremation casket ($1,310). From 2016 to 2021, cremation fees increased an average of 11.3% across the U.S, with cremation caskets seeing the highest increase (31%) in the same time period. [3] National Funeral Directors Association,‘2021 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Funeral Costs Not Rising as Fast as Rate of Inflation’ https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation

Item	Cost	%
Service fee	$2,300	33.0%
Transfer from funeral home	$350	5.0%
Embalming	$775	11.1%
Other preparation (grooming, casketing, dressing, etc.)	$275	3.9%
Facilities and staff (viewing)	$450	6.5%
Facilities and staff (ceremony)	$515	7.4%
Vehicle usage	$150	2.2%
Printed materials	$183	2.6%
Cremation fee	$368	5.3%
Cremation casket	$1,310	18.8%
Urn	$295	4.2%

Methodology

To find out typical funeral costs, the study used the National Funeral Directors Association’s (NFDA) latest (2021 cost data released in 2022) [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf dataset on funerals with casket (not with vault), and cremation costs, based on census regions (New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East South Central, West, South Central, East North Central, West North Central, Mountain, Pacific). This data was then adjusted to 2022 figures for state-level analysis using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator [4] Bureau of Labor Statistics, ‘CPI Inflation Calculator’ https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm alongside the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s (MERIC) Cost of Living index (2022 3rd quarter). [3] National Funeral Directors Association,‘2021 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Funeral Costs Not Rising as Fast as Rate of Inflation’ https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation

To obtain regional data and historic datasets, researchers on behalf of Self Financial contacted the NFDA separately and received datasets for various years ranging back to 2006 for funeral costs and 2014 for cremation costs (the earliest both datasets were available). 

To create a ‘cost of dying’ blended average the study used the percentage of cremations from the 2022 NFDA dataset [1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf (59.3%) and burials (35.7%) to reflect an average price for both burials and cremations.

D.C is referred to in the top states sections to offer the most transparent view of the data analyzed. 

States by Census Region

For clarity, the following is a breakdown of the states and how they fit into the census regions used by the NFDA for their regional analysis of funeral and cremation data. 

• New England: Connecticut, Maine. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
• South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
• East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee
• West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
• East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
• West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
• Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
• Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Sources

• ^[1] National Funeral Directors Association, ‘2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report’ https://californiahealthline.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/09/2022_Cremation-and-Burial-Report.pdf
• ^[2] Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s Cost of Living Index (2022 3rd Quarter) https://meric.mo.gov/data/cost-living-data-series
• ^[3] National Funeral Directors Association,‘2021 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Funeral Costs Not Rising as Fast as Rate of Inflation’ https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation
• ^[4] Bureau of Labor Statistics, ‘CPI Inflation Calculator’ https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm