Houston families are opting for cremations over burials
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Cremations are now twice as common as burials in the U.S., reversing a norm from two decades ago, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.
Why it matters: Shifting attitudes around religion, cost and the environment are reshaping how Americans — and Houstonians — handle death.
By the numbers: Cremation surpassed burial nationwide in 2015 — and the gap has only widened since, with the NFDA projecting cremation will continue gaining share.
- In Texas, the burial rate dropped from 43% in 2020 to 35% last year. The cremation rate surged from 50% to 58%.
- Burials also cost significantly more: In 2023, the median price of a casketed burial with viewing and ceremony was $8,300, compared with $2,750 for a direct cremation, according to NFDA data.
Zoom in: "With cremation, you can take care of the details of the body fairly quickly. And then once you're ready to deal with it, then you can deal with having a service or not," Joseph Earthman, owner of Joseph Earthman Generations in Houston, tells Axios, noting he's seen a rise in cremation preference in Houston, too.
- "There is a perceived ease and convenience along with it, which is another reason why I think people are going towards it."
- He said families are drawn to it when they're geographically spread out. He adds that cost is typically a secondary factor.
Cremation in the Houston area reached roughly parity with burial in 2024 and rose to just over half of consumer choices in 2025, Patrick Husband, Houston market director at Dignity Memorial, tells Axios.
Between the lines: Texas has seen steady growth in cremations, though its rate of increase may be lagging other states because of slower uptake in South Texas and rural areas, Harvey Hilderbran, executive director of the Texas Funeral Directors Association, tells Axios.
- He says areas that tend to be Latino or Catholic have been sticking with more traditional burial services.
- Trying to meet religious rituals but also save money, some customers are doing a hybrid, Hilderbran says. "We're seeing combinations — people getting a casket, doing the visitation, embalming, and then they cremate at the end."
What they're saying: Americans' environmental mindset "is carrying all the way over into death now," NFDA spokesperson Jack Mitchell, a sixth-generation funeral director based in Baltimore, tells Axios.
- Instead of opting for a traditional burial — which requires more land use, upkeep, embalming processes and items like caskets — people are going greener.
The fine print: NFDA's "burial" and "cremation" numbers rely on how information is recorded on death certificates by state, which depend on state law.
- "Cremation" can include alkaline hydrolysis depending on the state law.
The intrigue: As traditional, religious services decline, remembrance is shifting toward life celebrations and living funerals, sometimes held in spaces called "life event" venues, instead of "funeral homes," Mitchell says.
Stunning stat: By 2045, the cremation rate in Texas is projected to be 79%, per the NFDA.
What we're watching: How funeral ceremonies continue to evolve as more people get comfortable talking about death before they're near it.