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.

Sep 29, 2026 - Colorado Expands Funeral Home Regulation

• Colorado is tightening oversight of its funeral industry after years of limited regulation and several high-profile abuses, according to a Denver 7 report. Beginning in 2027, funeral directors must be licensed, while funeral homes and mortuaries must register as funeral establishments. New rules also bring affiliate or satellite locations under state oversight, allowing inspections of facilities used for storage or other operations. HB26-1258 further clarifies licensing procedures, streamlines fees, and increases penalties for abuse of a corpse. For funeral operators outside Colorado, the changes could become a reference point for other states reviewing death-care oversight. Colorado’s emphasis on individual licensing, inspections, affiliate-location disclosure, and stronger enforcement may encourage similar requirements elsewhere, potentially raising compliance costs but also increasing accountability and consumer confidence across the industry.
• The US services sector strengthened in August 2026, with the ISM Services PMI rising 1.3 points to 55.4, while the Other Services segment, which includes providers of death care services, showed a more mixed performance. Overall services business activity jumped to 61.7 and new orders to 60.9, but Other Services reported declining business activity even as new orders increased. The segment also reported lower employment and inventories, contrasting with overall services inventory growth, while supplier deliveries slowed. Cost pressures were particularly notable: Other Services ranked second among industries reporting higher prices as the overall Prices Index climbed to 72.6, its highest since August 2022. Backlogs also increased, suggesting demand was outpacing capacity in some businesses. Other Services respondents nevertheless said business was picking up and expected further growth over the next six months.
• 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 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.

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.