Funeral directors
May 2005 employment and annual earnings distribution, wage and salary workers
Funeral Directors: Perform various tasks to arrange and direct funeral services, such as coordinating transportation of body to mortuary for embalming, interviewing family or other authorized person to arrange details, selecting pallbearers, procuring official for religious rites, and providing transportation for mourners.
Funeral directors held about 30,000 jobs in 2004. Twenty percent were self-employed. Nearly all worked in the death care services industry.
Median annual earnings for funeral directors were $45,960 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $35,880 and $60,860. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $26,470 and the top 10 percent earned more than $85,910.
Salaries of funeral directors depend on the number of years of experience in funeral service, the number of services performed, the number of facilities operated, the area of the country, the size of the community, and the level of formal education. Funeral directors in large cities earn more than their counterparts in small towns and rural areas.
(from the Occupational Outlook Handbook: Funeral Directors)
See more recent statistics for employed workers below.
May 2005 employment and annual earnings distribution, wage and salary workers
National Occupational Employment and Earnings by Industry (NAICS sector and 3-digit industry group)
| Funeral directors | |||||
| Percentile earnings distribution | |||||
| 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) employment: 21,870 mean earnings: $56,230 (EC) (def) (IG) | $27,680 | $36,530 | $47,620 | $62,970 | $89,880 |
| Personal and Laundry Services employment: 21,860 mean earnings: $56,230 | $27,690 | $36,530 | $47,620 | $62,980 | $89,890 |
source: Occupational Employment Statistics Program; about these estimates
The (EC) links lead to data from the Economic Census from the Census Bureau.
The (def) links lead to 2002 NAICS industry definitions from the Census Bureau.
The (IG) links lead to Industry at a Glance industry profiles from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.