Death Care Services

The 14,273 Death care service providers in the US prepare the dead for burial or interment, conduct funerals, and operate sites or facilities reserved for the interment of human or animal remains. Death care service providers include funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories. Funeral homes account for about 74% of firms, while cemeteries and crematories account for the remainder. Some companies operate facilities that provide funeral services and cemeteries at the same location.

Pre-need Sales Dependent on Financial Markets

Because the proceeds from pre-need sales are typically invested in stocks, bonds and other instruments, death care service providers are vulnerable to declines in financial markets.

Government Regulation

Because the purchase of death care services occurs when families are especially vulnerable, sales are regulated at the federal, state, and local level.

Jul 29, 2026 - Aging Cemeteries Create New Industry Challenges

• Aging cemeteries with incomplete burial records are creating new operational and legal challenges for US death care providers, increasing the need for stronger cemetery management and advance planning, according to a Connecting Directors report. A recent case in Lafayette, Colorado, where unrecorded human remains were discovered during a grave excavation, prompted new burial policies that may serve as a model for other historic cemeteries facing similar issues. The changes require affected plot owners to choose among buybacks, relocation, cremation-only burials, or conditional traditional interments supported by ground-penetrating radar. For funeral homes and cemetery operators, the growing risk of unmarked graves could lead to burial delays, higher administrative costs, and more complex preneed and at-need arrangements. The trend also highlights opportunities to invest in digital recordkeeping, cemetery mapping, and grave-location technologies to reduce risk and improve long-term operational efficiency.
• The Other Services industry, which includes providers of death care services, continued to expand in June, broadly keeping pace with the overall services sector while posting growth across several key operating measures despite moderating activity, according to the June 2026 ISM Services PMI. The overall Services PMI eased to 54.0 from 54.5 in May, marking the 24th consecutive month of expansion for the overall services sector. Other Services was among the 14 industries reporting overall growth and was one of the industries reporting increases in business activity, new orders, slower supplier deliveries, higher prices, and growing order backlogs, indicating healthy demand despite ongoing cost pressures. However, the industry reported declining inventories, contracting imports, and inventory levels that remained too high relative to business needs. Overall, the results suggest Other Services businesses continued to benefit from steady customer demand while managing elevated input costs and gradually normalizing inventory levels.
• The slowing but continued rise in cremation is reshaping the US death care industry, requiring funeral providers to adapt services and business models to a more mature cremation market, according to annual statistics released by the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). The US cremation rate reached 62.8% in 2025, though the average annual growth rate slowed to 1.33% over the past five years from 1.58% in the previous five-year period. CANA notes that cremation demand continues to grow steadily but is entering a deceleration phase as the market matures. The report also found that embalming rates have declined alongside rising cremation adoption. For death care providers, the trend highlights the need to expand cremation-related offerings, strengthen memorial and gathering services, and plan for slower but ongoing shifts in consumer preferences as cremation becomes the dominant form of disposition.
• Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, is preparing to introduce Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), underscoring a broader shift in the US death care services industry toward eco-friendly alternatives, according to a BKReader report. The process converts an unembalmed body into about one cubic yard of soil within four to six weeks using organic materials. The Brooklyn site will be the first cemetery in New York and on the East Coast to offer the service, beginning in 2027. For the industry, NOR reflects growing demand for sustainable options alongside traditional burial and cremation. Adoption remains limited but expanding, with the practice now legalized in multiple US states and offered by select providers. This trend suggests new service line opportunities for cemeteries and funeral providers, though implementation requires regulatory approval, partnerships, and operational investment.

Industry size & Structure

The average death care services provider operates out of a single location, employs 10 workers, and generates over $1.7 million annually.

• The death care services industry consists of about 14,273 companies that employ 136,400 workers and generate about $23.7 billion annually.
• Funeral homes account for about 74% of firms, while cemeteries and crematories account for the remainder.
• The funeral home industry is fragmented; the top 50 firms account for about 22% of industry sales. The cemetery industry is less fragmented; the top 50 firms account for about 53% of industry revenue.
• Traditionally, death care service providers have been small, family-owned businesses that are passed down for generations.
• Large companies include Service Corporation International and Carriage Services.