Average Cost of a Funeral in 2026: Prices by State

Funeral costs by type of service

Traditional funeral with burial: the funeral home’s basic services fee, embalming and care of the body, a visitation or wake, a service at a church or the funeral home chapel, a procession and a committal at the grave. The average price of a casket is included.

Full-service cremation: the same visitation and service, followed by cremation instead of burial. A cremation casket is included. NFDA’s median for a funeral with viewing and cremation is $6,280.

Affordable burial (also called immediate or direct burial): burial without embalming, viewing or a service, with a basic casket. Families often hold a graveside or memorial gathering instead.

Direct cremation: collection of the body, cremation and return of the ashes, with no viewing or service. It is the lowest-cost option. Our average cost of cremation guide has prices for every state.

What a funeral price includes

NFDA’s median of $8,300 adds up the items most families choose for a funeral with burial: the basic services fee, transfer of the body to the funeral home, embalming and other preparation, a metal casket, use of the facilities and staff for the viewing and ceremony, a hearse, a service car or van, and a basic printed memorial package. It does not include the cemetery, a monument or marker, or cash-advance items such as flowers and an obituary.

Every item has its own line on the funeral home’s General Price List. Only the basic services fee is unavoidable; you can decline anything else, and you can buy a casket or urn elsewhere.

Cemetery costs on top of the funeral

A burial also needs a grave plot, opening and closing of the grave, usually an outer burial container or vault the cemetery requires, and a headstone or marker. These are billed by the cemetery, not the funeral home. Our guide to how much a burial plot costs sets out 2026 prices for each item.

Average funeral cost by state

The table ranks every state and Washington, D.C. by the average cost of a traditional funeral with burial, most expensive first. Select a state for its full guide to local costs, laws and help.

Why “average” funeral prices vary so much

An “average” funeral price is only as reliable as the prices behind it. It depends on which funeral homes were counted, when their prices were gathered, and whether a handful of very expensive firms pull the figure up. Two published figures show how much that matters.

NFDA surveyed its own member funeral homes in 2023 and reported the median, the middle price, from 809 responses. Funeralocity collected prices from funeral homes across the country and reported averages; how recently each of those prices was gathered is not published. Both leave out the cemetery, and neither tells you what a family can pay today in a particular town.

That is why the provider prices we publish come from current, published prices of real funeral and cremation providers in our network across North America, checked against their listings, not from scraped or modeled data. We show national and state averages for context only. Before you decide, ask at least three local funeral homes for their current General Price List.

How to lower the cost of a funeral

• Compare at least three General Price Lists. Funeral homes must give you prices by phone under the FTC Funeral Rule.
• Choose only what you want. Apart from the basic services fee, every item can be declined.
• Buy the casket or urn elsewhere. The funeral home must accept it without a handling fee.
• Consider direct burial or direct cremation with your own memorial afterwards; a direct cremation averages $2,203 nationally.
• Plan ahead. Our funeral pre-planning guide explains the options, including payable-on-death accounts.

Paying for a funeral

Social Security pays a one-time $255 to an eligible surviving spouse or child. Veterans may qualify for VA burial benefits and free burial in a national cemetery. Most other help is local, from counties and charities. See how to pay for a funeral and help with funeral costs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average cost of a funeral in 2026?

$8,596 for a traditional funeral with burial, based on 2026 national averages. NFDA’s most recent median is $8,300 (2023). Cemetery costs are extra.

Which state has the most expensive funerals?

Minnesota, at $9,697 on average for a funeral with burial, followed by Connecticut ($9,609) and Hawaii ($9,583). Oregon is the least expensive at $7,554.

What is the cheapest type of funeral?

Direct cremation, at $2,203 on average, followed by affordable (direct) burial at $5,140.

Does the funeral price include the cemetery?

No. The plot, opening and closing of the grave, any vault and the headstone are charged by the cemetery on top. See burial plot costs.

Sources

1. Funeralocity: national and state averages, 2026 (checked November 4, 2026).
2. NFDA 2023 General Price List Study: median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial ($8,300) and with viewing and cremation ($6,280), and what each includes.
3. DFS Memorials provider listings (network partner): average of 274 current direct cremation prices, checked November 5, 2026. In New York City, where a separate crematory fee is standard practice, the listed price excludes that fee.
4. FTC Funeral Rule, 16 CFR Part 453.
5. Social Security Administration: lump-sum death payment.

See our Sources & Methodology page for how we check prices. US Funerals Online receives referral fees from DFS Memorials network providers. Last reviewed: November 5, 2026.