Funeral homes are hosting golf outings and weddings as traditional burials have declined: 'It’s a reshaping of how we do things'

He isn’t alone in sensing demand for something different. In the NFDA’s 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Report, 58.3% of respondents said they had attended a funeral at a non-traditional location.

Why burials are fading

The numbers explain the pivot. The NFDA’s 2026 Cremation & Burial Report projects that cremation will make up 64.3% of the country’s final dispositions this year. The group also expects yearly deaths to climb to 3.9 million by 2045 while burials fall below 600,000 a year.

Price is part of the story, but not the whole of it. In the same report, convenience and simplicity ranked first among cremation drivers at 43.3%, ahead of cost at 34.4%. Cost was down from 50.4% in 2025.

Still, the NFDA found the median funeral with a casket and burial cost $8,300, while a funeral with cremation cost $6,280, Clear Money Guide reports. That’s a gap of about $2,000, which leaves out costs like a cemetery plot.

It’s important to understand what the costs include. For example, the Federal Trade Commission says a direct cremation covers the funeral home’s basic services fee, transportation and care of the body, plus an urn or container.

Personalized extras can add up, as each add-on you choose raises the final bill. For example, using the funeral home for a ceremony or memorial service is listed as an optional extra, and flowers fall under items the funeral home buys from outside vendors on your behalf.