SOC 39-4021.00

    Funeral Attendants

    Perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment.

    Median pay
    $35,680
    Growth
    +2.6%
    As fast as average
    Openings a year
    5,400
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $28,070
    Median
    $35,680
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $48,460
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    31,090 people work in this occupation.

    What funeral attendants do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    66 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    1 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    14 / 100
    Social (S)
    49 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    45 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    56 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RCS. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    85
    Assisting and Caring for Others
    81
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    79
    Handling and Moving Objects
    76
    Getting Information
    72
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    72
    Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
    71
    Communicating with People Outside the Organization
    62
    Performing General Physical Activities
    62
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    58
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Service Orientation
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Monitoring
    • Speaking
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Critical Thinking
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Time Management

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service
    • English Language
    • Administrative
    • Transportation
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Law and Government
    • Communications and Media
    • Sales and Marketing
    • Administration and Management
    • Mathematics

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Near Vision
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Written Comprehension
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Information Ordering
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Far Vision

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Empathy
    • Cooperation
    • Sincerity
    • Self-Control
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Humility
    • Social Orientation

    Also called

    Cemetery Services Specialist · Funeral Assistant · Funeral Associate · Funeral Attendant · Funeral Director · Funeral Greeter · Funeral Home Assistant · Funeral Home Associate · Funeral Home Attendant · Funeral Service Attendant

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What funeral attendants may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    15 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

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    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.