Cremation Boom Forces Funeral Homes to Rethink a 24/7 Business

 By Taylor Kase

As cremation becomes the top choice for U.S. families, funeral homes are reworking staffing and services to meet shifting preferences while protecting profits in a 24 hour, 7-day-a-week business.

Factors such as declining religious affiliation and personal preferences are driving the trend, rather than concerns about land availability or pressure from large corporations, said Chris Robinson, past President of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA).

About 66% of baby boomers are now choosing cremation, which is higher than any other generation, according to NFDA data. The generational shift is particularly significant for funeral homes because baby boomers currently represent the largest percentage of the deathcare market. Unlike previous generations, many boomers are opting for less traditional funeral rites, forcing the industry to stray from the customs that shaped it.

With cremation on the rise “services are the primary source of revenue for funeral home owners,” said Oklahoma funeral director Mark Riley, who described the industry as being “in disarray” amid widespread misconceptions about the value of memorialization. “There’s a belief that spending money on a service isn’t worth anything, but funerals are often just the starting point,” he added.

The shift reflects a change in how families want to process loss, which has left many family-owned funeral homes pivoting their business model to meet the demand while confronting stagnant prices and labor shortages. 

Photo by: Carmie Teolis

Industry estimates show funeral homes generate significantly less revenue from direct cremations than traditional burials, which historically included caskets, embalming, extended visitation, and cemetery coordination.

Most funeral homes cite difficulty hiring and retaining qualified personnel as one of their biggest hurdles in the coming years.

Despite growing attention on consolidation, most funeral homes remain small, locally owned businesses. Only about 25% of funeral homes are corporate owned, according to NFDA data.

Funeral service remains a 24/7 profession, requiring constant availability. Local operators say burnout is common, particularly in family-run firms where the staff pool is limited.

“We can’t take a family vacation together because someone always has to be present,” said Carmie Teolis, a third-generation funeral director in Pennsylvania. Unlike large corporate providers, independent firms cannot easily rotate staff or rely on regional coverage.

Attractive schedules and compensation are both the problem and the solution. Maintaining availability while preventing burnout is one of the industry’s central challenges, noted Robinson.

Teolis said attracting workers willing to engage face-to-face with grieving families has become more difficult, particularly as younger workers may be drawn to the idea of deathcare without fully understanding the emotional demands of the profession. In many cases, firms rely on aging staff or family members, raising concerns about long-term sustainability.

The NFDA and local providers noted a demographic shift within the workforce as a bright spot. Funeral service has become increasingly female-dominated, with over 70% of mortuary science graduates being women. A change many say has improved the industry by prioritizing quality of care alongside the day-to-day realities of running a funeral home.

The business has changed substantially over time. Services that were once long and formal have become shorter and less structured, with families increasingly saying they want to “get it done and over with,” Teolis said. At her firm, services that once stretched over several days now often occur once or twice a week.

Photo by: Carmie Teolis

A shift exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic when families were unable to gather for funeral services.

“People think if they don’t deal with grief, it goes away,” said both Riley and Robinson. “But what actually happens is you end up reliving that loss everywhere you go.”

To stay current, funeral homes like the ones owned by Teolis and Riley have expanded their service list to complement cremation, including live-streaming, customized music options, and less formal memorial events.

By offering services that require limited additional labor but add value for families, providers say they can stabilize revenue while rising to meet changing preferences.

“Any funeral director worth their salt is not going to suffer. There’s always revenue to be captured from consumer demand,” Riley said.