Death is expensive.
Whether you choose a formal burial or direct cremation, there are unavoidable costs involved in death.
The average cost of a burial in 2023 was $9,995, a 6.1% increase since 2021, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. This figure includes the costs of everything before the burial, including the casket, but does not include the cost of the cemetery plot, memorial or headstone.
The average cost of a cremation, with container and urn, in 2023 was $6,280, an 8.1% increase from 2021. This does not include the cost of a place and grave marker. During the same period, the inflation rate in the United States reached 13.6%, the NFDA said, citing the US Department of Labor.
If you add the cost of a cemetery plot, which varies widely by city and state and also depends on the size of the plot, along with the costs of opening and closing the grave, burial permits, grave liners, perpetual care or groundskeeper fees, the death bill starts to add up. Obituaries or death notices and flowers are additional expenses.
“Everyone has to pay something to deal with the body. It's a consumer cost that you can't opt out of. It's not a life event like a wedding that you can skip. You don't have to have a huge sum.” [funeral] “It's service, but you have to do something,” said Solen Chen, CEO of Kik, an online platform for end-of-life planning and bereavement support.
Empathy, a company that provides grief support and assistance with estate settlements, noted other expenses loved ones face after a death. Legal issues, such as attorney fees and court filing fees, cost $2,788 on average, and hiring a real estate agent and preparing a home for sale costs an additional $2,724 on average.
“Costs and individual preferences drive people to make different decisions,” Chen said. “Cremation is less expensive, and that is one of the factors driving growth.”
In 2015, the national cremation rate exceeded the casket burial rate for the first time in U.S. history. Cremation was the option for 60.5% of all deaths in 2023, according to the NFDA. By 2045, the cremation rate is expected to rise to 81.4%.
The shift toward cremation was also driven by other factors such as transient populations, the decline of organized religion, changing consumer preferences and environmental concerns, according to the NFDA report.
Randy Anderson, funeral director at Radney Funeral Home in Alexander City, Alabama, said cremations accounted for about 60% of the deaths the company handled over the past year — the highest he's ever seen at his funeral home.
Anderson said that in his experience, the decision to cremate a body is driven less by cost and more by personal or family preferences. He said most families still choose some type of ceremony or service to remember and honor the life of the deceased, even if they have been cremated.
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“You have to find funerals at any price and at any budget,” Anderson said. “The community still expects the service. People still ask. We'll still get the phone ringing asking when the service is. Too often we forget that the community wants to pay their respects and begin the grieving process.”
While Anderson's client base tends to opt for more traditional services — whether that's a formal burial or cremation — some clients ask about alternative burial methods, often simply so they know what their options are, he said.
Most Americans (60.5%) would be interested in exploring green funeral options because of their potential environmental benefits, cost savings or other reason, according to the NFDA.
There are a variety of eco-friendly or alternative options for funerals, including planting a tree with cremated remains, creating soil from human remains or even creating an ink tattoo filled with cremated remains.
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However, these options remain suitable. The global green funeral market is worth just $572 million, according to research firm Emergen. That's a small number compared to the U.S. funeral industry alone, which brings in about $20 billion annually, according to Marketdata LLC.
“There's a big gap between people's desires and what's happening. If you're not planning ahead, the knee-jerk reaction is to call the funeral home, and it's not the full service of options available to you,” Chen said.
However, comparison shopping or finding prices can be difficult, because funeral homes are not required to post their services and prices online.
The Federal Trade Commission has collected public comments and is reviewing whether to require funeral homes to post their prices online. No decision was taken. The original funeral home rule, which took effect in 1984 and was amended in 1994, predates widespread consumer use of the Internet and currently only requires price disclosure when a consumer visits or telephones a funeral home.
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Considering that half of Americans have less than $500 in savings, according to GOBankingRates, a funeral can be a stressful expense.
“People are crowdsourcing funerals, draining IRAs, and going into debt. People are getting a little sticker shock. Some people expect to get some money back from the estate, but it may be less than expected, or there may be a delay in getting some money back from the estate,” Chen said. Get money.”
Chen said there are things consumers can do to cut funeral-related costs, such as hosting the funeral at home, purchasing a casket online directly from the manufacturer, direct cremation or doing a green burial, but awareness is little.
“People end up going into debt while also trying to grieve,” Chen said.
