Funeral Expenses: The Breakdown
09.25.2019 | Category: Understand how life insurance works
Funerals can be expensive, whether they involve burial or cremation.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral in 2017 with viewing, burial and a burial vault (vaults are typically required by a cemetery) was $8,755.
And that doesn’t include other funeral costs such as a grave marker ($1,500), monument ($2,500), flowers ($300) and obituary ($500).*
Here’s a breakdown of the funeral costs of both a viewing with burial and a viewing with cremation as provided by the National Funeral Directors Association.
Median National Cost of Adult Funeral with Viewing and Burial
| Item | In 2017 |
|---|---|
| Non-declinable basic services fee | $2,100 |
| Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home | $325 |
| Embalming | $725 |
| Other preparation of the body | $250 |
| Use of facilities/staff for viewing | $425 |
| Hearse | $325 |
| Service car/van | $150 |
| Basic memorial printed package | $160 |
| Metal casket | $2,400 |
| Subtotal | $7,360 |
| Vault | $1,395 |
| Total with vault | $8,755 |
Median National Cost of Adult Funeral Viewing and Cremation
| Item | In 2017 |
|---|---|
| Non-declinable basic services fee | $2,100 |
| Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home | $325 |
| Embalming | $725 |
| Other preparation of the body | $250 |
| Use of facilities/staff for viewing | $425 |
| Hearse | $500 |
| Service car/van | $150 |
| Basic memorial printed package | $160 |
| Cremation fee (if firm uses a third-party crematory) | $350 |
| Cremation casket | $1,000 |
| Urn | $275 |
| Total | $6,260 |
* Costs are the national average based on the 2019 PriceFinder database provided by Everest Funeral Concierge.
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