How much does a funeral cost?

The national median cost of an adult funeral with viewing and burial is $8,300 in the National Funeral Directors Association's latest General Price List Study. A funeral with viewing and cremation had a median of $6,280. Neither figure includes the cemetery plot, the opening and closing of the grave, a headstone, flowers or an obituary, so the total a family pays is often higher.

What the $8,300 median includes

NFDA builds its burial median by adding up a standard list of funeral home charges. The latest study gives each line separately, which makes it a useful checklist when you read a funeral home's own price list.

Source: NFDA 2023 General Price List Study, released December 8, 2023.

Two lines make up more than half the total: the basic services fee and the casket. The basic services fee is the one funeral home charge you generally cannot decline. The casket is entirely your choice.

The same study found the burial median rose 5.8% in two years, from $7,848 in 2021. Over that period, NFDA notes, overall inflation was 13.6%.

What cremation costs

The cremation median of $6,280 still assumes a viewing and a funeral ceremony. Instead of a hearse and metal casket, it adds a cremation fee ($400), an alternative cremation container ($160) and an urn ($295), according to the NFDA study. That median rose 8.1% in two years, from $5,810.

Cremation is now the more common choice. NFDA projects a 2025 U.S. cremation rate of 63.4%, against a burial rate of 31.6%, on its statistics page updated September 29, 2025.

Costs the median leaves out

NFDA states plainly that its median does not include interment in a cemetery, a monument or grave marker, or cash-advance charges such as flowers and an obituary. Those are the costs families are most often surprised by.

The vault

Many cemeteries require an outer burial container, often called a vault. NFDA's latest study puts the median vault at $1,695, which brings the burial median with a vault to $9,995. The FTC notes that state law generally does not require a vault, but many cemeteries do.

Cemetery charges

The plot, the opening and closing of the grave, and a headstone or marker are priced by the cemetery, separately from the funeral home. Ask the cemetery for its prices in writing as early as you can.

Cash-advance items

Funeral homes often pay some bills to other sellers on your behalf, such as flowers or an obituary notice, and add them to your statement. Ask for each one as a dollar amount, and ask whether the funeral home adds its own charge on top.

Where you live

Prices vary by region. In NFDA's latest study, the Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington) had a burial median of $7,835 and a cremation median of $5,812. New England was highest for burial at $8,985.

Your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule

The Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule gives you rights that make comparing prices much easier. According to the FTC:

• A funeral home must give you price information by phone if you ask, and you don't have to give your name first.
• When you ask about arrangements in person, the funeral home must give you a General Price List that is yours to keep.
• You must be shown a written casket price list before you see the caskets, and a written outer burial container price list.
• You can buy only the goods and services you want instead of a package.
• You can supply a casket or urn bought elsewhere, and the funeral home can't refuse it or charge a fee for handling it.
• For cremation, a provider must offer an alternative container, such as cardboard or pressed wood, in place of a casket.
• After you choose, you get a written, itemized statement with each price and the total before you pay.

How to use the General Price List

Call two or three funeral homes near you and ask each for its General Price List. Line up the same items from the table above and compare them one by one. Look closely at the basic services fee, since it can't be declined, and at the casket, where the spread between models is widest. If a package price looks lower, check it against the itemized lines you would actually use.

Help from Social Security

Social Security pays a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255. It goes to a surviving spouse who lived in the same household, or who was getting benefits on the worker's record. If there is no spouse, a child who is eligible for benefits on that record may receive it. You must apply within two years of the death. You can't apply online; call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visit an office, according to SSA.gov.

The $255 helps, but it covers about 3% of the $8,300 median. The rest comes from savings, the estate, or a life insurance policy set aside for the purpose. Our guide to what final expense insurance is explains one way people plan for it, and final expense insurance cost by age shows how to size a benefit against these numbers.

The free Final Expense Cost Guide puts this price checklist on one page you can take to a funeral home. Get the free guide, or call us at (888) 410-2975 with questions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average cost of a funeral in the United States?

The National Funeral Directors Association's latest study found a national median of $8,300 for an adult funeral with viewing and burial, and $6,280 for a funeral with viewing and cremation. Those medians leave out cemetery charges, a headstone, flowers and an obituary, so most families should expect to pay more than the headline figure once those costs are added.

Is cremation cheaper than burial?

In NFDA's latest study, a funeral with viewing and cremation had a median of $6,280, about $2,000 less than the $8,300 burial median. Cremation also avoids a metal casket and usually a vault. If you don't want a viewing or ceremony, ask each funeral home for its direct cremation price.

Does a funeral home have to tell me prices over the phone?

Yes. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give you price information by phone if you ask, and it can't require your name, address or phone number first. When you visit in person to discuss arrangements, it must hand you a General Price List to keep.

Can I buy a casket somewhere else?

Yes. The FTC Funeral Rule lets you supply a casket or urn you bought from another seller. The funeral home can't refuse it, can't charge a fee for handling it, and can't require you to be there when it is delivered. A casket was the single largest item in NFDA's 2023 burial median, at $2,500.

Does Social Security help pay for a funeral?

Social Security pays a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to an eligible surviving spouse, or to an eligible child if there is no spouse. You must apply within two years of the death, by calling 1-800-772-1213 or visiting an office. The payment can't be applied for online.

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