Work Environment

Funeral home managers held about 12,500 jobs in 2020. The largest employers of funeral home managers were as follows:

• Death care services - 80%
• Self-employed workers - 19%

Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers held about 25,000 jobs in 2020. The largest employers of morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers were as follows:

• Death care services - 98%
• Self-employed workers - 1%

Funeral services traditionally take place in a house of worship, in a funeral home, or at a gravesite or crematory. However, some families prefer to hold the service in their home or in a social center.

Funeral service workers typically perform their duties in a funeral home. Workers also may operate a merchandise display room, crematory, or cemetery, which may be on the funeral home premises. The work is often stressful, because workers must arrange the various details of a funeral within 24 to 72 hours of a death. In addition, they may be responsible for managing multiple funerals on the same day.

Although workers may come into contact with bodies that have contagious diseases, the work is not dangerous if proper safety and health regulations are followed. Those working in crematories are exposed to high temperatures and must wear appropriate protective clothing.

Work Schedules

Most funeral service workers are employed full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. They are often on call; irregular hours, including evenings and weekends, are common.

Job Outlook

Overall employment of funeral service workers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2020 to 2030, slower than the average for all occupations.

Despite limited employment growth, about 4,000 openings for funeral service workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

Much of the projected employment growth in these occupations is due to recovery from the COVID-19 recession that began in 2020 and is likely to occur early in the decade.

Funeral service workers will be needed to assist the growing number of people prearranging end-of-life services. However, this demand will be slightly offset as consumers increasingly prefer cremation, which costs less and requires fewer workers than do traditional funeral arrangements.

Earnings

The median annual wage for funeral home managers was $74,000 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $42,260, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $135,660.

The median annual wage for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers was $48,950 in May 2021. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $29,640, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $83,550.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for funeral home managers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

• Death care services - $73,930

In May 2021, the median annual wages for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

• Death care services - $48,830

Most funeral service workers are employed full-time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. They are often on call; irregular hours, including evenings and weekends are common.