Economy Moves More People to Choose Cremation

A growing number of Americans are choosing cremation over the more expensive option of a traditional burial. Today, forty-one percent of Americans chose cremation over burial, a fifteen percent increase from 1985. One recent study revealed that the economy is one of the leading reasons more people are opting for this less expensive option.

A study conducted by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council found that one-third of adults who chose cremation in 2010 did so primarily for financial reasons (up from 19 percent in 1990).  The cremation association projects that cremation rates will pass fifty percent by 2017.

See Kevin Sack, In Tough Times, a Boom in Cremation as a Way to Save Money, The New York Times, Dec. 8, 2011.