Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers salary

SOC 39-4031 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$55,010

per year, nationally

Middle half

$42,430–$72,010

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

25,100

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+3.1%

3,200 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.

$33,350$88,620

10th: $33,350
25th: $42,430
Median: $55,010
75th: $72,010
90th: $88,620

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Associate's degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Long-term on-the-job training

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

Where morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers 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	Delaware	$81,530	99.8	80	0.99×
2	Utah	$72,800	98.9	240	0.86×
3	Illinois	$69,600	100.0	1,320	1.34×
4	New Jersey	$69,110	108.8	580	0.84×
5	Nebraska	$64,310	90.1	210	1.26×
6	Iowa	$63,700	87.8	640	2.54×
7	Pennsylvania	$63,580	97.6	910	0.93×
8	New York	$63,090	107.9	1,030	0.66×
9	Massachusetts	$62,120	105.8	430	0.73×
10	Indiana	$60,890	93.3	630	1.23×
11	Maine	$60,880	97.0	80	0.81×
12	Colorado	$60,850	103.1	320	0.68×
13	North Carolina	$60,730	94.3	1,000	1.25×
14	Michigan	$60,450	96.2	810	1.15×
15	Idaho	$60,250	95.5	160	1.15×
16	North Dakota	$59,760	89.0	110	1.55×
17	Connecticut	$59,710	103.6	300	1.10×
18	Washington	$59,700	107.0	400	0.71×
19	Kansas	$58,580	90.1	230	0.98×
20	Wisconsin	$58,250	94.1	580	1.23×
21	Maryland	$58,060	105.0	500	1.13×
22	Ohio	$57,800	92.8	1,370	1.53×
23	New Hampshire	$57,630	104.2	80	0.73×
24	Wyoming	$55,570	92.7	40	0.78×
25	Rhode Island	$55,420	102.3	40	0.51×
26	California	$50,750	110.7	2,240	0.76×
27	New Mexico	$50,380	92.2	100	0.70×
28	Georgia	$49,990	96.3	780	0.99×
29	Minnesota	$49,760	98.6	500	1.05×
30	Vermont	$48,740	98.0	40	0.74×
31	Oregon	$48,630	103.4	220	0.68×
32	Florida	$48,510	103.4	1,510	0.94×
33	Mississippi	$48,350	87.0	320	1.71×
34	West Virginia	$47,960	89.5	180	1.59×
35	South Dakota	$47,840	88.6	200	2.72×
36	Oklahoma	$47,780	87.8	380	1.37×
37	Louisiana	$46,730	88.2	440	1.40×
38	Texas	$46,630	97.1	1,500	0.66×
39	Hawaii	$46,310	110.0	150	1.52×
40	Tennessee	$46,180	91.9	550	1.04×
41	Alabama	$44,930	88.8	420	1.24×
42	Nevada	$43,940	100.0	280	1.12×
43	Montana	$43,680	94.6	110	1.37×
44	Kentucky	$43,320	90.2	470	1.44×
45	Missouri	$42,940	90.8	790	1.66×
46	Arizona	$41,870	100.7	360	0.70×
47	South Carolina	$40,020	93.7	400	1.07×
48	Arkansas	$36,120	86.9	360	1.69×

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 morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers

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	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$81,440	103.6	710	0.98×
2	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$78,280	99.8	60	2.19×
3	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$75,470	102.6	330	0.72×
4	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$74,780	98.2	30	0.62×
5	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$74,610	100.9	110	0.80×
6	Ogden, UT	$73,970	100.3	40	0.91×
7	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$72,860	112.6	940	0.61×
8	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$70,830	105.1	40	0.94×
9	Cedar Rapids, IA	$70,280	89.0	60	2.75×
10	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$70,100	91.7	110	1.64×
11	Omaha, NE-IA	$69,900	91.9	80	0.99×
12	Reading, PA	$66,470	97.1	30	1.16×
13	Lancaster, PA	$65,250	98.3	40	0.96×
14	York-Hanover, PA	$64,910	96.0	40	1.35×
15	Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	$64,450	98.7	40	0.70×
16	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$63,450	97.6	40	0.74×
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$63,160	110.4	120	0.64×
18	Lincoln, NE	$63,130	91.6	30	1.05×
19	Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	$63,010	95.5	100	0.98×
20	Saginaw, MI	$62,800	90.9	40	2.73×
21	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$62,580	89.1	50	1.78×
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$62,540	108.3	270	0.62×
23	Pittsburgh, PA	$62,450	94.7	240	1.31×
24	Asheville, NC	$62,380	96.5	80	2.73×
25	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$62,190	100.3	290	0.95×
26	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA	$62,040	93.6	60	1.33×
27	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	$61,940	99.6	60	0.77×
28	Springfield, MA	$61,640	96.1	40	1.32×
29	Fort Wayne, IN	$61,630	92.6	30	0.92×
30	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$61,430	105.8	130	0.52×
31	Winston-Salem, NC	$61,030	92.0	80	1.85×
32	Flint, MI	$60,920	93.0	50	2.13×
33	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$60,900	95.7	150	0.85×
34	Greensboro-High Point, NC	$60,780	92.9	80	1.30×
35	Lansing-East Lansing, MI	$60,540	95.0	30	0.93×
36	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$60,440	108.9	240	0.48×
37	Boise City, ID	$60,370	98.4	50	0.72×
38	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$60,310	115.6	250	0.65×
39	Yakima, WA	$60,130	95.5	40	2.67×
40	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	$60,130	95.8	90	1.05×

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 morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers 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 salary

What the range looks like

Getting in

Where morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers earn the most

Best paying metro areas for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers

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