Funeral Attendants salary

SOC 39-4021 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$35,680

per year, nationally

Middle half

$30,380–$42,870

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

31,090

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+3.1%

5,700 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$28,070$48,460

10th: $28,070
25th: $30,380
Median: $35,680
75th: $42,870
90th: $48,460

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where funeral attendants earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	New Hampshire	$55,850	104.2	120	0.87×
2	Rhode Island	$53,580	102.3	190	1.90×
3	Nevada	$51,980	100.0	100	0.31×
4	Delaware	$46,720	99.8	110	1.14×
5	Massachusetts	$46,280	105.8	1,090	1.50×
6	Connecticut	$45,800	103.6	520	1.52×
7	Minnesota	$43,910	98.6	400	0.67×
8	New York	$42,210	107.9	1,450	0.75×
9	Colorado	$41,710	103.1	160	0.28×
10	Washington	$41,600	107.0	160	0.23×
11	Utah	$41,130	98.9	270	0.79×
12	Vermont	$40,800	98.0	30	0.55×
13	Oregon	$40,350	103.4	70	0.19×
14	Iowa	$40,060	87.8	460	1.47×
15	Maine	$39,330	97.0	220	1.73×
16	Missouri	$39,270	90.8	620	1.05×
17	Maryland	$39,020	105.0	670	1.21×
18	California	$38,700	110.7	1,790	0.49×
19	New Jersey	$37,240	108.8	540	0.63×
20	South Dakota	$37,170	88.6	120	1.27×
21	Montana	$37,080	94.6	110	1.10×
22	Pennsylvania	$36,300	97.6	1,930	1.59×
23	Wisconsin	$36,030	94.1	500	0.86×
24	Illinois	$35,690	100.0	730	0.60×
25	Ohio	$35,640	92.8	1,720	1.55×
26	Arizona	$35,450	100.7	420	0.65×
27	Michigan	$35,380	96.2	1,460	1.66×
28	Virginia	$35,010	101.1	1,450	1.76×
29	North Dakota	$34,980	89.0	130	1.49×
30	North Carolina	$34,940	94.3	1,610	1.63×
31	New Mexico	$34,890	92.2	170	1.00×
32	Indiana	$34,420	93.3	1,080	1.69×
33	Idaho	$33,280	95.5	70	0.40×
34	Wyoming	$32,950	92.7	60	1.11×
35	Arkansas	$31,630	86.9	140	0.53×
36	West Virginia	$31,410	89.5	350	2.50×
37	Kansas	$30,720	90.1	330	1.14×
38	Texas	$30,560	97.1	2,150	0.77×
39	Mississippi	$30,530	87.0	280	1.22×
40	Oklahoma	$30,530	87.8	510	1.50×
41	Georgia	$30,530	96.3	1,070	1.09×
42	Louisiana	$30,370	88.2	560	1.45×
43	Alabama	$30,310	88.8	550	1.31×
44	Florida	$30,210	103.4	1,700	0.86×
45	Nebraska	$30,170	90.1	270	1.34×
46	South Carolina	$29,880	93.7	930	2.03×
47	Tennessee	$29,600	91.9	1,090	1.67×
48	Kentucky	$29,160	90.2	560	1.39×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where funeral attendants wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for funeral attendants

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ	$70,880	98.9	30	0.96×
2	Manchester-Nashua, NH	$57,080	105.7	40	1.11×
3	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$51,910	101.8	280	1.98×
4	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$48,110	108.3	680	1.25×
5	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$46,480	106.9	90	1.14×
6	Springfield, MA	$46,090	96.1	110	2.75×
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$45,900	111.1	50	0.12×
8	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$45,480	102.7	180	1.49×
9	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$45,100	112.6	1,190	0.63×
10	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$44,810	99.8	110	3.28×
11	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$44,100	115.6	220	0.47×
12	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$42,460	102.6	530	0.92×
13	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$42,380	105.8	60	0.19×
14	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$42,110	98.2	50	0.79×
15	Jefferson City, MO	$42,020	88.0	50	3.03×
16	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$41,130	100.9	120	0.73×
17	Gulfport-Biloxi, MS	$40,140	90.0	40	1.33×
18	Cedar Rapids, IA	$40,060	89.0	40	1.57×
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$39,500	108.9	410	0.65×
20	Portland-South Portland, ME	$39,470	101.9	80	1.43×
21	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$38,790	106.7	100	0.47×
22	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$38,700	113.6	680	0.54×
23	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$38,430	110.5	30	0.49×
24	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$38,230	111.9	130	0.44×
25	Modesto, CA	$38,130	104.1	50	1.15×
26	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$37,980	89.1	50	1.29×
27	Springfield, MO	$37,720	88.6	30	0.70×
28	St. Louis, MO-IL	$37,690	95.1	260	0.96×
29	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$37,630	95.8	110	1.00×
30	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$37,490	104.5	360	1.34×
31	Kansas City, MO-KS	$37,360	92.5	200	0.89×
32	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$37,240	100.0	90	1.25×
33	Fresno, CA	$36,840	102.2	70	0.69×
34	Lancaster, PA	$36,620	98.3	100	1.95×
35	Akron, OH	$36,610	93.4	110	1.74×
36	Madison, WI	$36,570	97.3	60	0.79×
37	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$36,540	97.6	60	0.90×
38	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$36,510	106.4	170	0.49×
39	Pittsburgh, PA	$36,080	94.7	570	2.57×
40	Asheville, NC	$36,040	96.5	100	2.72×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where funeral attendants wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers$55,010
Embalmers$58,780
Crematory Operators$43,650