Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salaries by State

Q: How much do morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers make in the U.S.?

The median morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers salary in the United States is $55,010 per year (mean $58,160), and about 80% earn between $33,350 and $88,620.

Q: How much do morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers make per hour?

Roughly $28 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $58,160 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers the most?

Delaware has the highest average pay for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers at $84,160 per year (median $81,530).

Q: What is the job outlook for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers?

Employment is projected to change +3.1% from 2024 to 2034 (About as fast as average), with about 3,200 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangerss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $58,160 ≈ $28/hr

National median salary $55,010

Total employment 25,100 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +3.1% About as fast as average

Annual openings 3,200 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 27,500 → 28,400 (+800)

Typical entry education Associate's degree

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $42,000–$50,000 $50,000–$55,000 $55,000–$62,000 $62,000–$66,000 $66,000–$84,000 U.S. mean $58,160

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

Delaware$84,160
Rhode Island$79,510
Illinois$74,280
New Hampshire$72,360
Utah$70,730

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Arkansas$41,510
Kentucky$43,130
Nevada$43,160
Arizona$44,350
Hawaii$44,740

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	Delaware	$84,160	$81,530	$40	+44.7%	80
2	Rhode Island	$79,510	$55,420	$38	+36.7%	40
3	Illinois	$74,280	$69,600	$36	+27.7%	1,320
4	New Hampshire	$72,360	$57,630	$35	+24.4%	80
5	Utah	$70,730	$72,800	$34	+21.6%	240
6	Colorado	$70,690	$60,850	$34	+21.5%	320
7	New York	$68,640	$63,090	$33	+18%	1,030
8	Pennsylvania	$66,810	$63,580	$32	+14.9%	910
9	Idaho	$66,720	$60,250	$32	+14.7%	160
10	North Dakota	$66,650	$59,760	$32	+14.6%	110
11	Iowa	$66,430	$63,700	$32	+14.2%	640
12	Connecticut	$65,810	$59,710	$32	+13.2%	300
13	Maryland	$64,930	$58,060	$31	+11.6%	500
14	Massachusetts	$64,870	$62,120	$31	+11.5%	430
15	New Jersey	$64,290	$69,110	$31	+10.5%	580
16	Nebraska	$63,910	$64,310	$31	+9.9%	210
17	Indiana	$63,430	$60,890	$31	+9.1%	630
18	Maine	$63,230	$60,880	$30	+8.7%	80
19	Wisconsin	$62,190	$58,250	$30	+6.9%	580
20	North Carolina	$62,110	$60,730	$30	+6.8%	1,000
21	Washington	$61,710	$59,700	$30	+6.1%	400
22	Michigan	$60,660	$60,450	$29	+4.3%	810
23	Minnesota	$60,600	$49,760	$29	+4.2%	500
24	Wyoming	$59,020	$55,570	$28	+1.5%	40
25	Ohio	$58,870	$57,800	$28	+1.2%	1,370
26	Kansas	$57,780	$58,580	$28	-0.7%	230
27	Oklahoma	$56,510	$47,780	$27	-2.8%	380
28	California	$56,130	$50,750	$27	-3.5%	2,240
29	South Dakota	$55,200	$47,840	$27	-5.1%	200
30	Georgia	$54,720	$49,990	$26	-5.9%	780
31	Vermont	$54,620	$48,740	$26	-6.1%	40
32	Florida	$53,820	$48,510	$26	-7.5%	1,510
33	Oregon	$52,500	$48,630	$25	-9.7%	220
34	New Mexico	$52,280	$50,380	$25	-10.1%	100
35	Montana	$52,050	$43,680	$25	-10.5%	110
36	Missouri	$51,390	$42,940	$25	-11.6%	790
37	South Carolina	$50,420	$40,020	$24	-13.3%	400
38	West Virginia	$50,310	$47,960	$24	-13.5%	180
39	Louisiana	$49,500	$46,730	$24	-14.9%	440
40	Tennessee	$49,080	$46,180	$24	-15.6%	550
41	Mississippi	$47,360	$48,350	$23	-18.6%	320
42	Alabama	$45,850	$44,930	$22	-21.2%	420
43	Texas	$45,600	$46,630	$22	-21.6%	1,500
44	Hawaii	$44,740	$46,310	$22	-23.1%	150
45	Arizona	$44,350	$41,870	$21	-23.7%	360
46	Nevada	$43,160	$43,940	$21	-25.8%	280
47	Kentucky	$43,130	$43,320	$21	-25.8%	470
48	Arkansas	$41,510	$36,120	$20	-28.6%	360

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 194 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$81,440	$81,660	710
2	Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$78,280	$70,340	60
3	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$75,470	$69,650	330
4	Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$74,780	$73,000	30
5	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$74,610	$72,370	110
6	Ogden, UT	$73,970	$70,500	40
7	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$72,860	$70,620	940
8	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$70,830	$73,640	40
9	Cedar Rapids, IA	$70,280	$70,000	60
10	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$70,100	$69,260	110

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangerss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	$91,420	$95,600	140
2	Federal Government, including the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	$91,420	$95,600	140
3	Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS	$90,850	$93,960	150
4	Sector 99 - Federal, State, and Local Government, excl. State & Local Schools & Hospitals & USPS	$90,850	$93,960	150
5	Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS	$90,400	$92,130	160
6	Educational Services	$82,320	$79,480	30
7	Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	$82,320	$79,810	30
8	Sector 61 - Educational Services	$82,320	$79,480	30
9	Sector 56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$65,830	$57,280	—
10	Cross-Industry, Private, Federal, State, and Local	$55,010	$58,160	25,100
11	Cross-industry, Private Ownership only	$54,670	$57,940	24,930
12	Personal and Laundry Services	$54,530	$57,880	24,780

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

11,259

$10-20k

3,228

$20-30k

4,795

$30-40k

2,489

$40-50k

5,639

$50-60k

4,398

$60-70k

4,723

$70-80k

3,893

$80-90k

2,573

$90-100k

1,303

$100-110k

2,001

$110-120k

$120-130k

609

$130-140k

149

$140-150k

105

$150-160k

487

$170-180k

160

$190-200k

178

$200k+

190

Pay by age band

16-24

$16,483

25-34

$39,614

35-44

$42,522

45-54

$67,218

55-64

$52,274

65+

$34,099

Education level

Associates Degree

$47,288

Bachelors Degree

$50,826

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$42,588

Some college, but less than 1 year

$38,327

Regular high school diploma

$40,711

Masters Degree

$49,171

Professional degree

$35,415

GED or alternative credential

$30,254

Doctorate degree

$15,466

12th grade - no diploma

$14,902

Grade 11

$28,635

Grade 9

$23,347

Grade 6

$38,742

Grade 10

$27,527

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

32,318 · $62,064

Part-time

6,256 · $25,013

Race / ethnicity

White

$47,204

Black

$32,203

Two or More Races

$45,329

Other

$31,591

Asian

$58,743

American Indian

$22,842

Top fields of study

Cosmetology Services And Culinary Arts

$50,457

Business Management And Administration

$62,691

General Business

$46,435

Psychology

$44,582

Criminal Justice And Fire Protection

$49,511

Biology

$58,341

Accounting

$49,392

General Education

$75,893

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Social Perceptiveness

4.1

Active Listening

4.1

Service Orientation

3.9

Speaking

3.8

Coordination

3.8

Time Management

3.4

Reading Comprehension

3.3

Writing

3.3

Critical Thinking

3.1

Persuasion

3.1

Negotiation

3.1

Judgment and Decision Making

3.1

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers make in the U.S.?

The median morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers salary in the United States is $55,010 per year (mean $58,160), and about 80% earn between $33,350 and $88,620.

How much do morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers make per hour?

Roughly $28 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $58,160 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers the most?

Delaware has the highest average pay for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers at $84,160 per year (median $81,530).

What is the job outlook for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers?

Employment is projected to change +3.1% from 2024 to 2034 (About as fast as average), with about 3,200 openings per year.