The rate at which Americans are choosing to be cremated rather than buried after their death has been rising for many years. In 2016, that rate reached an all-time high. Part of the reason for the recent rise might be related to the changing religious practices around the country.
Fifty percent of Americans chose cremation in 2016, according to a new report by the National Funeral Directors Association. The rate of cremation in the U.S. has risen steadily over the years, going from just five percent in the 1970s to 40 percent in 2010.
The U.S. cremation rate is still much lower than countries like Japan and Switzerland, where 100 percent and 85.4 percent of those countries’ populations, respectively, are cremated. But NFDA predicts that by 2035, nearly 80 percent of Americans will be cremated after their death. The national cremation rate exceeded the burial rate for the first time in 2015. Right now, burials fall behind cremations by just a few percentage points. But NFDA expects the gap to increase starkly over the next few years.
Another huge factor is cost
Cremations cost roughly a third of what funerals with burials cost, according to NFDA. They also tend to be more environmentally friendly, which has increasingly become a concern for many Americans. Of those opting for cremation, NFDA reported that 39 percent of cremated remains are returned to families, roughly 37 percent are buried at a cemetery and less than two percent are scattered at a cemetery. Nearly 20 percent of cremated remains are scattered at non-cemetery locations.
(Source: National Funeral Directors Assoc.)