Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Career, Salary and Skills
Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $55,010 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 25,100. Wage data is published for 179 locations.
Occupation description
Perform various tasks to arrange and direct individual funeral services, such as coordinating transportation of body to mortuary, interviewing family or other authorized person to arrange details, selecting pallbearers, aiding with the selection of officials for religious rites, and providing transportation for mourners.
O*NET code
39-4031.00
Job zone
3
Typical education
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$55,010
Hourly median
$26.45
Employment
25,100
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.12 | 4.38 |
| Active Listening | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Service Orientation | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Time Management | 3.38 | 3.50 |
| Writing | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Persuasion | 3.12 | 3.50 |
Typical tasks
- Clean funeral home facilities and grounds.
- Participate in community activities for funeral home promotion or other purposes.
- Oversee the preparation and care of the remains of people who have died.
- Obtain information needed to complete legal documents, such as death certificates or burial permits.
- Perform embalming duties, as necessary.
- Consult with families or friends of the deceased to arrange funeral details, such as obituary notice wording, casket selection, or plans for services.
- Remove deceased remains from place of death.
- Receive or usher people to their seats for services.
Technology
- Belmar & Associates Mortware
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Custom Data Systems Sterling Management Software
- FPA Software MACCS
- FuneralKiosk
- HMIS Advantage
- iCIMS Talent Cloud software
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Salesforce software
Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in CAMedian $50,750 · Employment 2,240
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in FLMedian $48,510 · Employment 1,510
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in TXMedian $46,630 · Employment 1,500
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in OHMedian $57,800 · Employment 1,370
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in ILMedian $69,600 · Employment 1,320
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in NYMedian $63,090 · Employment 1,030
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in NCMedian $60,730 · Employment 1,000
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in New York, NYMedian $72,860 · Employment 940
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in PAMedian $63,580 · Employment 910
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $50,490 · Employment 860
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in MIMedian $60,450 · Employment 810
- Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers Salary in MOMedian $42,940 · Employment 790
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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.