Funeral Attendants
Also called: Funeral Assistant, Funeral Attendant, Funeral Director, Funeral Home AssistantPerform 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 24 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 2.6% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Embalmers, crematory operators and funeral attendants”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.7 hires for every 10 job openings in other services, which employs about 100% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.7 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $30,310 | $24,710 to $35,610 | 550 |
| Arizona | $35,450 | $34,000 to $36,040 | 420 |
| Arkansas | $31,630 | $26,960 to $41,070 | 140 |
| California | $38,700 | $36,990 to $44,420 | 1,790 |
| Colorado | $41,710 | $38,200 to $53,580 | 160 |
| Connecticut | $45,800 | $38,730 to $51,890 | 520 |
| Delaware | $46,720 | $44,790 to $47,230 | 110 |
| Florida | $30,210 | $29,420 to $35,520 | 1,700 |
| Georgia | $30,530 | $28,600 to $36,180 | 1,070 |
| Idaho | $33,280 | $30,460 to $42,530 | 70 |
| Illinois | $35,690 | $32,720 to $41,720 | 730 |
| Indiana | $34,420 | $30,820 to $37,130 | 1,080 |
| Iowa | $40,060 | $38,080 to $45,710 | 460 |
| Kansas | $30,720 | $24,190 to $35,520 | 330 |
| Kentucky | $29,160 | $24,930 to $34,140 | 560 |
| Louisiana | $30,370 | $28,490 to $35,030 | 560 |
| Maine | $39,330 | $36,590 to $44,580 | 220 |
| Maryland | $39,020 | $36,640 to $45,110 | 670 |
| Massachusetts | $46,280 | $31,300 to $57,050 | 1,090 |
| Michigan | $35,380 | $30,160 to $37,620 | 1,460 |
| Minnesota | $43,910 | $38,170 to $46,190 | 400 |
| Mississippi | $30,530 | $24,030 to $40,140 | 280 |
| Missouri | $39,270 | $35,420 to $47,010 | 620 |
| Montana | $37,080 | $36,280 to $42,870 | 110 |
| Nebraska | $30,170 | $28,510 to $34,400 | 270 |
| Nevada | $51,980 | $38,820 to $52,750 | 100 |
| New Hampshire | $55,850 | $48,660 to $60,850 | 120 |
| New Jersey | $37,240 | $34,940 to $48,900 | 540 |
| New Mexico | $34,890 | $32,280 to $39,260 | 170 |
| New York | $42,210 | $37,450 to $46,730 | 1,450 |
| North Carolina | $34,940 | $29,260 to $37,550 | 1,610 |
| North Dakota | $34,980 | $33,810 to $44,920 | 130 |
| Ohio | $35,640 | $30,420 to $39,270 | 1,720 |
| Oklahoma | $30,530 | $27,020 to $35,240 | 510 |
| Oregon | $40,350 | $37,730 to $42,990 | 70 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,300 | $34,490 to $44,870 | 1,930 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,840 | $21,840 to $21,840 | 280 |
| Rhode Island | $53,580 | $44,430 to $53,740 | 190 |
| South Carolina | $29,880 | $23,000 to $35,890 | 930 |
| South Dakota | $37,170 | $36,250 to $47,190 | 120 |
| Tennessee | $29,600 | $27,870 to $34,400 | 1,090 |
| Texas | $30,560 | $28,800 to $35,030 | 2,150 |
| Utah | $41,130 | $32,930 to $49,070 | 270 |
| Vermont | $40,800 | $33,590 to $40,890 | 30 |
| Virginia | $35,010 | $28,990 to $37,030 | 1,450 |
| Washington | $41,600 | $38,100 to $45,380 | 160 |
| West Virginia | $31,410 | $30,110 to $37,080 | 350 |
| Wisconsin | $36,030 | $33,510 to $38,460 | 500 |
| Wyoming | $32,950 | $26,170 to $33,720 | 60 |
Nationally: $35,680. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 8 of its 24 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Greet people at the funeral home. | Not published |
| AI + software | Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned. | Not published |
| AI alone | Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held. | Not published |
| Not much | Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals. | Not published |
| Not much | Arrange floral offerings or lights around caskets. | Not published |
| Not much | Close caskets at appropriate point in services. | Not published |
See all 24 tasks
| Not much | Carry flowers to hearses or limousines for transportation to places of interment. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean funeral parlors or chapels. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean and drive funeral vehicles, such as cars or hearses, in funeral processions. | Not published |
| Not much | Offer assistance to mourners as they enter or exit limousines. | Not published |
| Not much | Supervise funeral processions and assist with cemetery parking. | Not published |
| Not much | Deliver floral arrangements or other items to family members of the deceased. | Not published |
| Not much | Act as pallbearers. | Not published |
| Not much | Transport the deceased to the funeral home. | Not published |
| Not much | Issue and store funeral equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform general maintenance tasks for funeral homes, such as maintaining equipment or caring for funeral grounds. | Not published |
| AI alone | Perform various administrative tasks, such as typing documents or answering telephone calls. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Provide advice to mourners on how to make charitable donations in honor of the deceased. | Not published |
| AI + software | Attend to the needs of the bereaved, such as by offering comfort, counseling, or after-care programs. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Assist with cremations and the processing and packaging of cremated remains. | Not published |
| AI alone | Obtain doctors' signatures on death certificate and complete other paperwork, such as insurance claims forms. | Not published |
| Not much | Embalm, dress, cosmeticize, and casket the deceased. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare obituaries for newspapers. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Obtain burial permits and register deaths. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 24 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 24 tasks fall under 17 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- #19 Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists
- #23 Prepare informational or instructional materials
- and 1 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Perform administrative or clerical activities | |||
| Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists | |||
| Counsel others about personal matters | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Prepare informational or instructional materials | |||
| Maintain facilities or equipment |
Show all 17 activities
| Arrange displays or decorations | |||
| Identify business or organizational opportunities | |||
| Apply hygienic or cosmetic agents to skin or hair | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Distribute materials, supplies, or resources | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Escort others | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Embalm corpses |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer17%
- Advice or a recommendation12%
- An email or message12%
- A document or report8%
- Data or a spreadsheet4%
How they worked with Claude
26% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for funeral attendants specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 960 moves out
- 1 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Low +1.5% 9%
- 2 Data Entry Keyers Very high -25.5% 6%
- 3 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 5%
- 4 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Very high +1.8% 4%
- 5 Light Truck Drivers Moderate +6.3% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 1,400 moves in
- 1 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Low +1.5% 12%
- 2 Nursing Assistants Low +2.6% 6%
- 3 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks Very high +1.8% 6%
- 4 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 6%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 7% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 13% some college
- 22% associate's
- 9% bachelor's
- 2% professional doctorate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 22 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 11% less than high school
- 33% high school
- 25% some college
- 11% associate's
- 14% bachelor's
- 5% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Embalmers, crematory operators and funeral attendants” · 213 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
69.6% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a license | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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