Funerals By The Numbers

The Funeral Trends Ticker is designed to offer a snapshot of the options our funeral planners are choosing. The total “Funeral Plans Created on Funeralwise.com” is the total number of plans our planners have created to date with our Wise Planning System. The percentages represent the number of people who have selected the indicated options.

There is no question that the way Americans view funerals is changing. Industry survey after industry survey tells us that the use of cremation is on the rise and that many people are opting to forego the traditional funeral.

As an industry leader in funeral planning, we wanted to see for ourselves. We decided to look back over the last ten years to see what the choices our funeral planners make could tell us about how the world of funerals is evolving. The following charts tell the story.

FUNERAL TRENDS: DISPOSITION

One of the first choices anyone makes when planning for end-of-life is if they would prefer burial, cremation, or some other method of caring for their remains.

• In 2010, more than 70% of Funeralwise planners opted for burial. By 2019, this number had fallen to approximately 63%.
• Cremation has shown a steady increase over the ten years; we expect this increase to continue.
• Other methods of disposition, such as Donation to Science, have remained steady at 1-2% annually.

Funeral Trends: Type of Service

The decision of what type of service to hold to commemorate your life is a deeply personal one. Historically, most people opted for a traditional funeral led by a clergy member or funeral director.

• As cremation has grown, so has the use of a memorial service (no remains present) in lieu of a traditional funeral (body present).
• The use of graveside services has remained relatively constant over the past 10 years while the number of people opting to forego a service appears to be growing.

Funeral Trends: Traditional Services

A common misconception is that when you have cremation, you can’t have a traditional funeral service. However, as the use of cremation has grown, so too has the understanding that it is possible to have a funeral with cremation. We can see that reflected in the chart below.

Funeral Trends: Ashes

You have many options when it comes to how your cremated remains are handled. For most people, having their remains returned to the family is the most popular choice.

About Our Data

Our data includes information provided by individuals who have taken advantage of our funeral planner. As a consequence, it reflects those who are more likely to use online resources as opposed to working on a paper planner or directly with a funeral home. We do not capture comprehensive age demographics information but we believe our planner users may skew younger since they rely on the web. Nevertheless, the summaries provided above are generally reflective of trends in the industry and represent the preferences of a wide segment of the market.