The $88,300 Death: What Americans Pay When Someone Dies in 2025

End-of-life costs in the U.S. average $88,300 in 2025: $80,000 in final-year medical expenses and $8,300 for burial with viewing.  Funeral costs vary by region, with the Northeast running about 8% higher than the national average. MoneyGeek analyzed data from the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), LIMRA and peer-reviewed medical cost studies to understand what Americans pay when loved ones die. The findings reveal regional cost disparities and coverage gaps affecting millions of households.

U.S. end-of-life costs include funeral services, final-year medical care and related debts.

Funeral Service Costs

Burial with viewing costs a median of $8,300 in 2023, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Cremation with services averages $6,280. Costs cover professional services, transportation, body preparation, caskets or containers, facility use and permits. Direct burial ($2,800) and direct cremation ($1,500 to $2,000) are lower-cost options. Add-ons like plots, vaults or headstones add $1,000 to $5,000.

About 63.4% of Americans chose cremation in 2025, projected to reach 82.3% by 2045, driven by affordability and flexibility.

Final Year Medical Costs: What to Expect

Medical spending in the final 12 months averages $80,000, with $155,000 over three years. This makes up about 8.5% of U.S. health care spending, a share projected to remain stable through 2033 amid 7.1% general health care growth in 2025. Health insurance coverage helps manage these costs, though Medicare beneficiaries still pay $8,000 to $12,000 out of pocket, covering deductibles, copays, medications and uncovered services. Medicare Advantage plans may help reduce these expenses.

Geography drives funeral costs. Families save $1,850 to $2,000 by choosing cremation over burial. Northeast burial costs average $8,500 to $9,000, according to NFDA. Southern states cost less: $6,700 to $8,000. Cremation runs about $2,000 cheaper across all regions. Los Angeles and New York burial services hit $9,000 to $10,000.

Factors Driving Regional Price Differences

Real estate costs push up funeral home expenses in New York and Los Angeles. Connecticut's mandated embalming and storage standards add to the bill. Rural Southern regions like Mississippi see lower prices — more funeral homes mean more competition. Labor markets in the Northeast pay higher wages, raising funeral director and mortician fees. Hawaii and Alaska pay more for transporting specialty equipment and supplies.

End-of-life costs in the U.S. average $88,300 in 2025. Understanding how life insurance death benefits work helps families prepare for these expenses. About 40% of U.S. adults (100 million people) need more life insurance, with gaps widest among women (43%), Hispanics and Blacks. Seniors face unique affordability challenges when purchasing coverage. In 2024, insurers sold 9.4 million policies despite 100 million consumers expressing need.

Why Young Adults Avoid Life Insurance

Young adults ages 18 to 30 overestimate life insurance costs by 10 to 12 times the actual price. A LIMRA study shows healthy adults in this age group think a $250,000, 20-year term policy costs far more than it does. Most assume it's unaffordable and never check actual rates.

Just 24% of Gen Z and millennials understand underwriting (how insurers evaluate applicants and set policy terms). No-exam life insurance policies offer simplified applications without this hurdle. The knowledge gap delays purchases for years.

Financial and Health Impact on Families

Families without adequate insurance face financial and health consequences. Surviving spouses of those who died in the hospital have 1.5 times higher odds of emergency visits and 1.4 times higher odds of hospitalizations compared to those whose spouses died elsewhere.

Unpaid medical or utility bills persist, hitting lower-income households hardest. This leads to retirement savings depletion, credit card debt, delayed medical care, reduced spending and housing instability. These financial impacts ripple through families for years, affecting credit scores, retirement security and health.

Financial planners say adequate life insurance reduces financial risk and protects families from unexpected expenses.

Coverage Needs

A $25,000 to $50,000 policy covers funeral expenses and immediate debts. For full protection, financial advisors recommend 10 to 12 times annual income plus additional coverage. Financial planners recommend using a life insurance calculator to determine coverage needs based on:

• 5 to 7 years of income replacement
• Outstanding mortgage balance
• Children's education costs
• Final expenses ($15,000 to $25,000)
• Other debts

Types of Life Insurance for End-of-Life Coverage

Several life insurance types serve different needs:

Term life insurance: Low-cost, temporary coverage for 10 to 30 years. It works well for income replacement during working years or mortgage protection.

Whole life insurance: Permanent coverage that builds cash value. It costs more than term insurance but guarantees coverage regardless of age or health changes.

Final expense insurance: Policies ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for funeral and burial costs, with simplified underwriting.

Employer-provided coverage: Group life insurance often provides 1 to 2 times annual salary in coverage, though often insufficient alone.

Additional Financial Planning Tools

Financial planners also recommend these strategies:

• Prepaid funeral plans lock in today's prices and let families choose services in advance.
• Payable-on-death accounts skip probate, giving beneficiaries immediate access to funds.
• Advance directives spell out medical preferences, helping families avoid costly end-of-life treatments the patient wouldn't want.
• Estate planning through wills and trusts moves assets to heirs faster and with less expense.

Financial planners recommend consulting an advisor to explore life insurance policy options that match coverage needs.

End-of-life planning raises questions about costs, coverage and regional differences. Common questions about end-of-life costs:

This analysis breaks down the $88,300 average end-of-life cost into funeral expenses and final-year medical spending to document actual costs when someone dies.

Funeral costs: We used the National Funeral Directors Association's (NFDA) median costs for burial with viewing ($8,300) and cremation with services ($6,280) from their 2023 General Price List Study and September 2025 statistics. Regional funeral cost data comes from the same study, which surveyed over 800 funeral homes across U.S. Census regions. The analysis breaks down costs by nine regions, including New England, South Atlantic, Mountain and Pacific states.

Medical expenses: Final-year medical costs ($80,000 for 12 months, $155,000 for three years) come from peer-reviewed research in Lancet Regional Health – Americas analyzing U.S. Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance claims data. Out-of-pocket costs ($8,000 to $12,000) and health care spending projections (7.1% growth in 2025) were verified through CMS National Health Expenditure data and Health Affairs research.

Coverage gap data: Life insurance ownership and need statistics (40% of adults lacking adequate coverage, demographic breakdowns) come from LIMRA's 2025 Insurance Barometer Study and 2024 Insurance Need Gap report surveying U.S. adults on policy ownership and coverage needs.

Health Impact: Bereavement health care utilization data (1.5 times higher emergency visits, 1.4 times higher hospitalizations) comes from Health Services Research's analysis of Medicare beneficiaries whose spouses died in the hospital versus other locations, verified by Health Economics Review's 2024 follow-up study.

All dollar figures reflect 2023 to 2025 data verified as of October 22, 2025. State funeral costs can be independently verified through NFDA's funeral home finder and the U.S. Census Bureau's mortality statistics.