Trendspotting: Cremation Nation

NewsWire: 5/18/22

• In 2020, 56% of Americans who died were cremated. This share has gone up sharply over the past few decades and is shifting the “epicenter” of death rituals away from the cemetery. (The Washington Post)
  
• NH: For the last 25 years, the US cremation rate has steadily risen. In 1996, it was only 21.8%. In 2015, it surpassed 50.0%. And in 2020, it hit a record high of 56.1%.
• In the chart below, the second to last bar is 2020. As you can see, while the rate slightly increased, the absolute number of cremations skyrocketed. This is due to the rise in deaths from Covid-19. (The final bar is a prediction by the Cremation Association of North America for 2025.)

• Let’s explore some of the drivers pushing the rise in cremations. 
• Generational Preferences: Much of this shift is driven by changes in generational desires as we have moved from mostly GI funerals to Silent and Boomer funerals. In contrast to GIs, the Silent generation emphasizes personal touches more than grand ceremonies. Many would like their families to skip the expensive funerals and opt for casual celebrations of life. Boomers are even less attracted to preserving their bodies after death (as opposed to liberating their spirit), and many are opting for cardboard urns as post-mortem testimony to their eco-awareness. All this leads to a growing preference for cremation. (See “Is the Death Care Industry Dying?”) 
• Cost: Cremation is typically a much cheaper option than a casket. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral with a viewing and burial is $7,848. The median price of a funeral with a viewing and cremation is $6,970. And the median cost of just cremation is only $2,550. 
• Covid-19: During lockdowns, people couldn’t gather for funeral services. Many families chose cremation since the ashes could be preserved until it was safe to gather. 
• Weather: Cremation rates are significantly higher in northern states. Because frozen ground makes burials more difficult in the winter months, cremation is viewed as the more practical option. Some believe this is why Canada’s cremation rate (72.1%) is higher than that of the US. 
• Some regions of the US have been slower to adopt the practice. In many southern states, cremation rates are about half of the average for New England and the West Coast. Weather may be a factor for New England. But most of the gap is due to a greater prevalence of fundamentalist Christianity in the South.

• The national trend is nonetheless clear: Cremation is now Americans’ preferred means of “final disposition.” And many death-care businesses are reflecting this shift. Traditional funeral and casket companies like Service Corp International (SCI) and Hillenbrand (HI) have responded to their shrinking market over the years by rolling up their industry to the extent allowed by antitrust authorities. But they have also been compelled to respond to the market by expanding their cremation services and products.