Methodology

How we source and calculate prices.

Here's where each number comes from, how current it is, and how far you can rely on it.

Where the prices come from

Prices on Cheap Funeral come from the funeral home database shared by our network of sites, which includes FuneralUS, our main funeral home directory. For some homes we hold a copy of the General Price List the prices were taken from; for others we show the price recorded in the database and cannot always show the document behind it.

Prices change, and ours can be out of date. Under the FTC Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453) every funeral home must give you its current General Price List, including price information over the phone, and only that list is binding. See your rights under the Funeral Rule.

State and national medians

The price tables on state pages, guides and the home page summarize the direct cremation and immediate burial prices on file for every funeral home in the area.

Median: half of the homes with a price on file charge less, half charge more.
Middle half of homes: the 25th to 75th percentile of those prices.
Based on: how many funeral homes have that price on file. We only publish a figure when at least 10 homes do; below that, a median says too little to be useful.
Missing and zero prices are left out. Figures are recalculated from the database at least hourly, and each table shows when the underlying price data was last refreshed.

Which funeral homes we list

State pages list budget-friendly funeral homes, cheapest first. A home qualifies when at least one of these is true:

Its direct cremation price is below the state's 25th percentile, or its starting price is at most 75% of the state median.
Its record is tagged with a budget, affordable, direct-cremation, co-op or funeral-society keyword.

Each listing links to the home's full profile on FuneralUS, where every funeral home in our database is listed, not only the lowest-priced ones.

Guides

Our guides cite the regulations and official sources they rely on, such as the FTC Funeral Rule, the Social Security Act and the VA, and show the date they were last checked. They are general information, not legal or financial advice.

Ratings

Ratings and review counts come from each home's Google business profile.

Corrections

If a listing or price is wrong, tell us through the contact page. Include the home's name, address and the detail to correct.