What the funeral home charges
National medians for an adult funeral with viewing and burial. A median means half of funeral homes charge less and half charge more.
| Item | Median cost |
|---|---|
| Basic services fee (non-declinable) | $2,495 |
| Transfer of remains to funeral home | $395 |
| Embalming | $845 |
| Other preparation (dressing, cosmetics, casketing) | $295 |
| Use of facilities and staff for viewing | $475 |
| Use of facilities and staff for ceremony | $550 |
| Hearse | $375 |
| Service car or van | $175 |
| Printed memorial package | $195 |
| Metal casket | $2,500 |
| Funeral with viewing and burial | $8,300 |
| Burial vault | $1,695 |
| Total with vault | $9,995 |
What the funeral home doesn't charge for
The figures above stop at the funeral home's door. A burial also needs:
• A cemetery plot. Around $2,600 on average, from a few hundred dollars in a rural municipal cemetery to $10,000 or more in a private urban one (Elayne, 2025).
• Opening and closing the grave. A cemetery fee, often $1,000 or more, and higher on weekends.
• A headstone or marker. From a few hundred dollars for a flat marker to several thousand for an upright monument, plus a setting fee.
• Flowers, the obituary, clergy, death certificates. Small individually; together often $500 to $1,500.
Add those to $9,995 and a typical burial runs $13,000 to $15,000. That's the number to plan for, not the $8,300 headline.
Cremation costs
Most American families now choose cremation — about 63% in 2025 by the industry's estimate. A funeral with a viewing and ceremony followed by cremation has a national median of $6,280, which includes the cremation fee ($400), an alternative container ($160) and an urn ($295), but not a casket or vault. A direct cremation with no service is far less, commonly $1,000 to $3,000 depending on the provider and the state. Cremation still leaves the choice of where the ashes go: a niche, a plot, or home.
Costs by region
NFDA publishes medians by census region. Prices run highest in New England and the upper Midwest and lowest in the Mountain states.
| Region | States | Viewing and burial | Viewing and cremation |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT | $8,985 | $7,023 |
| West North Central | IA, MN, KS, MO, ND, SD, NE | $8,755 | $6,713 |
| Middle Atlantic | NJ, NY, PA | $8,573 | $6,498 |
| East North Central | IL, IN, MI, OH, WI | $8,280 | $6,120 |
| South Atlantic | DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, WV, VA | $8,023 | $6,103 |
| West South Central | AR, LA, OK, TX | $7,912 | $5,890 |
| Pacific | AK, CA, HI, OR, WA | $7,835 | $5,812 |
| East South Central | AL, KY, MS, TN | $7,615 | $5,858 |
| Mountain | AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY | $7,390 | $5,505 |
How to keep the cost down
• Ask for the itemized price list. Federal law requires funeral homes to give you one and to let you choose only the items you want.
• You can buy the casket elsewhere. The funeral home must accept it without a handling fee.
• Embalming is rarely required by law. It's usually optional if there's no public viewing or the burial happens quickly.
• Compare two or three funeral homes. Prices for the same service can differ by thousands within one city.
• Decide burial vs. cremation early. It's the single biggest lever on the total.
How people pay for it
The bill usually arrives within a week or two, and most funeral homes want payment before or at the time of service. Families cover it from savings, from a life insurance payout, or on credit. A final expense policy sized to the numbers above — typically $10,000 to $20,000 — pays the beneficiary directly, so the family isn't choosing between a credit card and a smaller service. Social Security's one-time death payment is $255 and Medicare pays nothing toward a funeral; see our Social Security and Medicare guide.