If you’ve started estate planning and preparing your end-of-life plans, you’ll need to know one key fact: how much an average funeral costs. Among other things, it will help you determine whether you need to purchase Final Expense or Preneed Funeral insurance to cover your funeral costs.

The figures below are national median and average funeral expenses in the United States. Prices vary significantly by state and by funeral details you choose.

If you’d like to compare the costs between burial and cremation and adjust the figures below to better fit your location, check out our funeral expenses calculator.

Funeral home/director

• Basic services of staff: $2,100
• Transportation of remains to funeral home: $325
• Embalming: $725
• Other preparations of the body: $250
• Viewing and ceremony (use of facilities and staff): $925
• Hearse: $325
• Service car/limousine: $150
• Memorial printed package: $160
• Memorial video production: $1,000

Burial

• Casket: $2,000-$5,000
• Burial vault: $675-$1,200

Cremation

• Cremation fee (if third-party is used): $350
• Cremation casket: $1,000
• Cremation urn: $50-$200
• Urn vault: $125-$900

Funeral service details

• Guest book and memorial sheets: $25-$250
• Burial clothing: $95-$400
• Burial cosmetology and hairdressing: $200
• Floral arrangements: $90-$250
• Clergy or officiant: $50-$500
• Organist: $175-$250
• Vocalist: $100-$200
• Food for post-funeral reception: $400-$700

Cemetery arrangements

• Burial plot: $1,500-$2,500
• Opening and closing of the grave: $1,240
• Endowment care: $150-$250
• Grave monument/tombstone and installation fees: $450-$850
• Gravesite committal service: $700-$2,400

Miscellaneous items

• Obituary in newspaper or online: $200-$500
• Transportation and lodging for out-of-town guests: $120-$300
• Death certificate: $10-$15 (per certificate)

Photo credit: iStock