How much do morticians make?

Mortician salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers (SOC 39-4031) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Morticians in the US earned a median of $55,010 a year ($26.45 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $42,430 to $72,010.

Median annual pay: $55,010; Mean $58,160
Median hourly pay: $26.45; Mean $27.96
Typical range (10th–90th): $33.4K–$88.6K; $33,350 to $88,620
US jobs: 25,100; +3.0% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a mortician: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Delaware

Mortician pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$33,350
25th percentile$42,430
Median$55,010
75th percentile$72,010
90th percentile$88,620

Half of all morticians earned more than $55,010 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $33,350; the top 10% made over $88,620. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $42,430 to $72,010.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$33,350	$16.03	$2,779
25th	$42,430	$20.40	$3,536
Median (50th)	$55,010	$26.45	$4,584
75th	$72,010	$34.62	$6,001
90th	$88,620	$42.61	$7,385
Mean (average)	$58,160	$27.96	$4,847

Mortician salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for morticians by state. Darker tiles pay more. A dash means BLS did not publish a figure.

Highest-paying states

1. Delaware $81,530
2. Utah $72,800
3. Illinois $69,600
4. New Jersey $69,110
5. Nebraska $64,310

Lowest-paying states

48. Arkansas $36,120
47. South Carolina $40,020
46. Arizona $41,870
45. Missouri $42,940
44. Kentucky $43,320

Best after cost of living: Delaware. Its median of $81,530 is worth about $81,687 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$44,930	41	$50,584	33	$21.60	420	0.20
Alaska	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Arizona	$41,870	46	$41,588	47	$20.13	360	0.11
Arkansas	$36,120	48	$41,547	48	$17.37	360	0.27
California	$50,750	26	$45,836	43	$24.40	2,240	0.12
Colorado	$60,850	12	$59,048	18	$29.26	320	0.11
Connecticut	$59,710	17	$57,630	21	$28.71	300	0.18
Delaware	$81,530	1	$81,687	1	$39.20	80	0.16
District of Columbia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Florida	$48,510	32	$46,909	41	$23.32	1,510	0.15
Georgia	$49,990	28	$51,914	32	$24.03	780	0.16
Hawaii	$46,310	39	$42,119	46	$22.27	150	0.24
Idaho	$60,250	15	$63,093	12	$28.97	160	0.19
Illinois	$69,600	3	$69,629	5	$33.46	1,320	0.22
Indiana	$60,890	10	$65,242	7	$29.27	630	0.20
Iowa	$63,700	6	$72,583	3	$30.63	640	0.41
Kansas	$58,580	19	$65,040	9	$28.16	230	0.16
Kentucky	$43,320	44	$48,048	37	$20.83	470	0.23
Louisiana	$46,730	37	$52,978	31	$22.47	440	0.23
Maine	$60,880	11	$62,731	14	$29.27	80	0.13
Maryland	$58,060	21	$55,317	25	$27.92	500	0.18
Massachusetts	$62,120	9	$58,738	19	$29.86	430	0.12
Michigan	$60,450	14	$62,827	13	$29.06	810	0.18
Minnesota	$49,760	29	$50,456	34	$23.92	500	0.17
Mississippi	$48,350	33	$55,605	23	$23.24	320	0.28
Missouri	$42,940	45	$47,282	39	$20.64	790	0.27
Montana	$43,680	43	$46,151	42	$21.00	110	0.22
Nebraska	$64,310	5	$71,374	4	$30.92	210	0.20
Nevada	$43,940	42	$43,949	44	$21.13	280	0.18
New Hampshire	$57,630	23	$55,326	24	$27.71	80	0.12
New Jersey	$69,110	4	$63,517	11	$33.22	580	0.14
New Mexico	$50,380	27	$54,635	26	$24.22	100	0.11
New York	$63,090	8	$58,459	20	$30.33	1,030	0.11
North Carolina	$60,730	13	$64,383	10	$29.20	1,000	0.20
North Dakota	$59,760	16	$67,177	6	$28.73	110	0.25
Ohio	$57,800	22	$62,302	15	$27.79	1,370	0.25
Oklahoma	$47,780	36	$54,392	27	$22.97	380	0.22
Oregon	$48,630	31	$47,049	40	$23.38	220	0.11
Pennsylvania	$63,580	7	$65,162	8	$30.57	910	0.15
Rhode Island	$55,420	25	$54,185	28	$26.64	40	0.08
South Carolina	$40,020	47	$42,688	45	$19.24	400	0.17
South Dakota	$47,840	35	$54,004	29	$23.00	200	0.44
Tennessee	$46,180	40	$50,267	35	$22.20	550	0.17
Texas	$46,630	38	$48,044	38	$22.42	1,500	0.11
Utah	$72,800	2	$73,637	2	$35.00	240	0.14
Vermont	$48,740	30	$49,756	36	$23.43	40	0.12
Virginia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Washington	$59,700	18	$55,788	22	$28.70	400	0.11
West Virginia	$47,960	34	$53,588	30	$23.06	180	0.26
Wisconsin	$58,250	20	$61,906	16	$28.01	580	0.20
Wyoming	$55,570	24	$59,952	17	$26.71	40	0.13

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure (3 states). State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for morticians

130 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$81,440	$78,614	710
Waterbury-Shelton, CT	$78,280	$78,454	60
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$75,470	$73,590	330
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	$74,780	$76,126	30
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$74,610	$73,968	110
Ogden, UT	$73,970	$73,713	40
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$72,860	$64,728	940
Stockton-Lodi, CA	$70,830	$67,400	40
Cedar Rapids, IA	$70,280	$78,999	60
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$70,100	$76,444	110

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	940	$72,860	$64,728
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	860	$50,490	$44,459
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	710	$81,440	$78,614
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	400	$49,190	$43,091
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	370	$48,140	$46,697
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	340	$55,660	$55,628
St. Louis, MO-IL	340	$49,280	$51,826
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	330	$75,470	$73,590
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	310	$47,990	$48,657
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	290	$62,190	$62,005

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves mortician pay: employers and settings

The median mortician earned $55,010 in May 2025. Almost every job, 98.7%, is in death care services, with a median of $54,530 so employer type matters less than in most careers. The rare federal government positions pay a median of $91,420 and the few jobs at colleges and universities pay $82,320.

Location moves pay much more. Delaware has the highest median at $81,530, followed by Utah at $72,800, Illinois at $69,600, New Jersey at $69,110, and Nebraska at $64,310. Arizona at $41,870, South Carolina at $40,020, and Arkansas at $36,120 are the lowest. Delaware stays on top after adjusting for living costs. California, Florida and Texas have the most jobs.

The 10th percentile earns $33,350, while the 90th percentile, $88,620, earns more than half again the median. Within a funeral home, holding both a funeral director and an embalmer license, taking night and weekend call, managing a location and selling preneed contracts can raise earnings; owning the business adds profit and risk. Pay has not kept up with inflation: in 2025 dollars, the median fell from $65,549 in 2015 to $55,010.

Where morticians work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Death Care Services	98.7%	$54,530
Federal Executive Branch	0.6%	$91,420
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	0.1%	$82,320

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	24,930	$54,670
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	140	$91,420

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Mortician pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$55.0K $48.5K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $48,490 in 2015 to $55,010 in 2025, up 13% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $65,549 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 16% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What morticians do

A mortician, also called a funeral director or, in older usage, an undertaker, takes charge of everything that happens between a death and the final burial or cremation. When a call comes in, often at night, the mortician arranges to bring the body from a home, hospital or nursing facility to the funeral home. Licensed embalmers then disinfect and preserve the body and restore its appearance for viewing.

The other half of the job is meeting with the family. Morticians explain options and prices, help choose a casket or urn, write the obituary, book clergy, musicians and the cemetery or crematory, and run the visitation and service itself. They file the death certificate and burial or cremation permits, ship remains to other states, and help survivors with veterans' and insurance paperwork. Nearly all work for funeral homes, from family-owned businesses with a handful of staff to large corporate chains, and many also sell prearranged funerals to people planning ahead.

A typical day

Answer death calls at any hour and transfer the body to the funeral home
Embalm, dress, cosmetize and casket the deceased for viewing
Meet with families to plan services and go over the itemized price list
File death certificates and burial or cremation permits with state and local officials
Coordinate cemeteries, crematories, clergy, florists and obituary notices
Direct visitations and funerals and lead the procession to the grave
Meet with people who want to plan and prepay their own funerals

Also called: funeral director, undertaker, morticians, funeral arrangement director, funeral arranger, funeral counselor, funeral family service assistant, funeral location manager.

How to become a mortician

Full guide

To become a mortician, you usually complete a 2-year associate degree in mortuary science from an ABFSE-accredited program, pass the National Board Exam and any state law exam, and serve a 1- to 3-year apprenticeship under a licensed funeral director. Most states also require you to be at least 21.

Typical time: 3-4 years; Fastest: About 2-3 years
Minimum education: Associate degree in funeral service or mortuary science from an ABFSE-accredited program (most states)
License: Required in nearly every state and DC; Colorado, long the exception, created funeral director licenses by law in 2024
Typical training cost: $10.1K–$14.9K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a mortician: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 3-4 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $10.1K–$14.9K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $55,010; $4,030 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 18–27%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($4,030 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in about 2.5–3.7 years after training ends (3-4 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for morticians

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +3.0%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 26,700; 27,500 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 3,000; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 5.2%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects jobs for morticians, undertakers and funeral arrangers to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, from 26,700 to 27,500, a little under the 3.5% average for all occupations. More people are planning their funerals in advance, which supports demand. Cremation works the other way: it is cheaper and takes less staff time than a traditional funeral and burial, and more families are choosing it. Even with slow growth, about 3,000 openings a year are expected, mostly to replace funeral directors who retire or leave.

Related careers and their pay

CNA$42,260
Healthcare Administrator$123,860
LPN$64,400
Funeral Attendants$35,680
Funeral Home Managers$78,790

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Mortician salary FAQ

How much do morticians make an hour?

The median hourly wage for morticians was $26.45 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $16.03 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $42.61. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays morticians the most?

Delaware has the highest median pay for morticians, $81,530 a year, followed by Utah ($72,800) and Illinois ($69,600). After adjusting for each state's price level, Delaware comes out ahead at about $81,687 in national-average dollars.

Do morticians make six figures?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of morticians earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $55,010, and the top 10% earn more than $88,620. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

Is a mortician the same as a funeral director?

In everyday use, yes. Mortician, funeral director and undertaker all describe the person who arranges and conducts funerals, and BLS counts them in one occupation. Legally, states define the titles differently: some issue a single funeral director and embalmer license, while others license funeral directors and embalmers separately, so a funeral director in those states may not embalm. Check your state board's license types.

Do morticians work nights and weekends?

Often. Deaths happen at all hours, and someone must answer the phone and go out to bring the deceased into care, so most funeral homes rotate on-call duty. Visitations are usually held in the evening, and many funerals take place on weekends. Funerals are typically arranged within a few days of a death, so busy weeks can mean long days and several services at once.

What is the hardest part of being a mortician?

For many, it is the emotional weight rather than the work with the dead. Funeral directors meet families on the worst day of their lives, including after the deaths of children, suicides and accidents, and must stay calm and organized while planning a service on short notice. The on-call schedule and the physical work of lifting and moving bodies add strain.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 39-4031
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (39-4031.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Funeral Service Workers: Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Accredited Programs of Funeral Service (Directory), American Board of Funeral Service Education · checked October 28, 2026
Questions and Answers (National Board Exam FAQ), The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards · checked October 28, 2026
SB24-173 Regulate Mortuary Science Occupations, Colorado General Assembly · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) · checked October 28, 2026
Complying with the Funeral Rule, Federal Trade Commission · checked October 28, 2026

Careers and Salaries is not affiliated with the Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Found an error? Tell us; corrections are listed on the editorial policy page.