Open data
Methodology — model v2
The model at a glance
state_estimate = nfda_2023_national_median × (state_bea_2024_rpp_all_items ÷ 100)The formula
# Example — California traditional burial:
$8,300 × (110.72 ÷ 100) = $9,189.76 → $9,190
Data freshness — why 2024 and 2023 are the newest honest vintages
BEA regional price parities: 2024. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released 2024 RPPs on February 19, 2026 — the current release, with the next one scheduled for December 10, 2026. We pulled all 50 states plus D.C. from the BEA’s Interactive Data Application (Table SARPP) on September 23, 2026 and cross-checked the values against the official release. Official statistics always lag by a year or more; 2024 is the newest RPP data that exists.
NFDA price medians: 2023. The NFDA’s 2023 Member General Price List Study remains the latest published NFDA price study. The NFDA said it would field the next GPL study in 2025, but as of September 23, 2026 no price results from a 2025 study had been publicly released — and 2026 press coverage still cites the 2023 medians as current. We would rather show a clearly-dated 2023 median than invent a newer one.
Our commitment: this dataset rebuilds annually — each spring we pull the newest BEA RPP release and check for a newer published NFDA study, then publish a changelog with the new model version. The vintage line at the top of every page always tells you exactly what you’re looking at.
National anchors (NFDA 2023 medians)
| Service | National anchor | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Funeral with viewing + burial | $8,300 | NFDA 2023 Member GPL Study median |
| Funeral with viewing + burial + vault | $9,995 | NFDA 2023 Member GPL Study median |
| Funeral with viewing + cremation | $6,280 | NFDA 2023 Member GPL Study median |
| Direct cremation | $2,750 | NFDA 2023 Member GPL Study median |
| Immediate burial | $3,720 | NFDA 2023 Member GPL Study median |
| Green burial (assumption-based) | $4,980 | Stated assumption: 0.60 x traditional burial; no published NFDA median exists |
What the NFDA medians include — and exclude
Included
- Non-declinable basic services fee
- Removal/transfer of remains to the funeral home
- Embalming and other preparation of the body
- Use of facilities and staff for viewing
- Use of facilities and staff for the funeral ceremony
- Hearse
- Service car or van / utility vehicle
- Basic memorial printed package
- Casket (burial medians) / cremation casket and urn (cremation-with-service median)
Excluded
- Cemetery plot / interment rights
- Cemetery opening and closing fees
- Monument, headstone, or grave marker
- Burial vault (except the burial-with-vault estimate)
- Flowers
- Obituary / newspaper notices
- Cash-advance items (clergy honoraria, death certificates, etc.)
Source ledger
https://content.nfda.org/Portals/0/2024_NFDA_Cremation%20and%20Burial%20Report.pdf
National medians: $8,300 funeral with viewing and burial (vault not included); $6,280 funeral with viewing and cremation; $3,720 immediate burial; $2,750 direct cremation (funeral-home container); $2,500 metal casket; $295 urn. The $9,995 burial-with-vault median is widely reported from the 2023 GPL Study press release.
Retrieved 2026-09-23
https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area
2024 state all-items, goods, and services-component (housing/utilities/other) RPP indexes, pulled from the BEA Interactive Data Application (Table SARPP) and cross-checked against the official February 19, 2026 news release. Next BEA release: December 10, 2026.
Retrieved 2026-09-23
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t02.htm
Inflation context for funeral costs; index base December 1986 = 100.
Retrieved 2026-09-23
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/ftc-funeral-rule
Official consumer rights used in our Funeral Rule rights guide.
Retrieved 2026-09-23
https://mdfunerals.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Comparative-Costs-7.15.26.pdf
Cemetery plot ($1,000–$5,000+), opening/closing ($1,500–$3,000), and marker ($1,000–$3,000) typical ranges used as calculator add-ons.
Retrieved 2026-09-23
Limitations
- State values are modeled from national medians; actual local prices vary widely.
- NFDA medians come from member funeral homes and exclude cemetery and cash-advance costs.
- RPP vintage is 2024 (BEA February 2026 release); the dataset refreshes annually as new releases arrive.
- NFDA price medians are 2023 vintage because no newer official GPL study results have been published.
- Green burial has no published NFDA median; it is a stated assumption (0.60× traditional burial), labeled as such everywhere it appears.
- Calculator add-on ranges (flowers, obituary) are typical market ranges, not surveyed prices.
- This site is educational content, not financial, legal, or funeral-planning advice.
Estimates modeled from 2024 BEA regional price parities and 2023 NFDA medians · Built 2026-09-23 · Model v2 · Refresh cadence: annual.