How much does a funeral cost? Line by line, with your rights

The NFDA is the main trade group for funeral homes. It asks its members for their prices. Its latest study we could find is from 2023. Here is what it found for an adult funeral:

• Viewing and burial: a median of $8,300.
• Viewing and burial with a vault: a median of $9,995. A vault is the box that holds the casket in the ground. The vault alone had a median of $1,695.
• Viewing and cremation: a median of $6,280.

A median is the middle price. Half of funeral homes charged more and half charged less. Your price depends on where you live and what you choose.

Some people buy a small whole life policy to pay for this. To learn how that works, read how final expense insurance works.

The NFDA adds up these items to get its median for a funeral with viewing and burial. All prices are 2023 medians.

Source: NFDA 2023 Member General Price List Study, news release of December 8, 2023.

Cremation. The cremation median of $6,280 uses most of the same services but no hearse and no metal casket. Instead it adds a cremation fee ($400), a simple cremation container ($160) and an urn ($295). The NFDA cremation total still includes embalming and a viewing. Skipping those lowers the cost.

Each line is its own median, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total. Use the list to see where the money goes, not as a bill.

The NFDA says its medians do not include:

• Cemetery costs. The plot (grave), and the fee to open and close the grave.
• A headstone or grave marker.
• Cash advance items. These are things the funeral home pays others for, then bills you. Examples are flowers and an obituary in the paper.

The FTC says that if a funeral home adds its own charge to a cash advance item, it cannot tell you the price is the same as what it paid.

Prices also change by region. Here are the NFDA 2023 medians by part of the country:

Source: NFDA 2023 Member General Price List Study.

The Funeral Rule is a federal rule from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is in the federal code at 16 CFR Part 453. It applies to funeral homes. It does not apply to cemeteries that have no funeral home on site.

The General Price List. When you start to talk about arrangements or prices, the funeral home must give you a written price list you can keep. It lists each item and service and its price. You can also ask for prices by phone. The home must answer, and it cannot make you give your name first.

You can buy items one at a time. You do not have to take a package. The basic services fee is the only service fee the home can require. A cemetery or crematory may have its own rules, such as a cemetery that requires a vault. Ask for any such rule in writing.

You can buy a casket somewhere else. If you buy a casket or urn from a store or online, the funeral home must accept it. It cannot charge you a fee to handle it.

Embalming is often not needed. No state law requires embalming for every death. Some states require embalming or cooling (refrigeration) if the body is not buried or cremated within a set time. The home cannot charge for embalming you did not approve.

Cremation does not need a casket. A home that offers direct cremation must offer at least one simple container, called an alternative container.

A written list before you pay. After you choose, the home must give you a written list of each item, its price and the total.

• Compare two or more funeral homes. The FTC suggests this. Call and ask for prices, or ask each home to send its General Price List.
• Skip what you do not need. You can say no to embalming in most cases, and to a viewing, a hearse or printed cards.
• Keep the viewing short. The FTC suggests one day or one hour before the service.
• Buy the casket or urn yourself. The home must accept it with no fee.
• Use clothes you already own. The FTC notes this can save on burial clothing.
• Ask about government help. Social Security pays a small one-time payment to some survivors. See the Social Security death benefit. Veterans may get help too. See VA burial benefits.

Some people pay a funeral home ahead of time. That is called a preneed plan. It works differently from insurance. See preneed vs final expense insurance.

A final expense policy pays cash to your beneficiary (the person who gets the money). They can use it for the funeral or any other bill. To pick a coverage amount, start with real prices, not a guess.

1. Get a price list from a funeral home near you. Mark the items you want.
2. Add the cemetery or cremation costs. Ask the cemetery for the plot, the grave opening and the marker. If you choose cremation, ask what the urn and any niche (a spot for the urn) cost.
3. Add other final bills. Think of medical bills, a last month of rent or small debts.
4. Subtract savings you have set aside for this.

Example math (round numbers): say the funeral home list comes to $10,000. The cemetery quotes $3,000. You add $2,000 for other bills. That totals $15,000. That is the coverage amount you would ask about.

Prices go up over time, so some people add a little extra. Each insurer sets its own limits on how much it will sell at your age. See final expense insurance companies for what each one offers and where.

We do not list premiums. The price depends on your age, health, state, tobacco use, the amount and the insurer. To get a real price, you need to speak with a licensed agent or the insurer.