Careers / Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers

Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

Opens your browser print dialog — choose “Save as PDF”.

Median annual wage

$55,010

United States, 2025

Employment

25,100

United States, 2025

Typical education

Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree

Job Zone 3

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

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
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Receive or usher people to their seats for services.
  • 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.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$33,350
10th
$42,430
25th
$55,010
Median
$72,010
75th
$88,620
90th

10th percentile

$33,350

25th percentile

$42,430

75th percentile

$72,010

90th percentile

$88,620

Most important skills

  • Social Perceptiveness4.1
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Service Orientation3.9
  • Coordination3.8
  • Speaking3.8
  • Time Management3.4
  • Reading Comprehension3.3
  • Writing3.3
  • Critical Thinking3.1
  • Negotiation3.1
  • Persuasion3.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.1

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 18 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

18

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Social Perceptiveness4.14.4Not selected4.4
Active Listening4.14.0Not selected4.0
Service Orientation3.94.0Not selected4.0
Coordination3.84.0Not selected4.0
Speaking3.84.0Not selected4.0
Reading Comprehension3.33.9Not selected3.9
Writing3.33.9Not selected3.9
Time Management3.43.5Not selected3.5
Critical Thinking3.13.6Not selected3.6
Negotiation3.13.5Not selected3.5
Persuasion3.13.5Not selected3.5
Management of Personnel Resources3.03.5Not selected3.5
Monitoring3.03.4Not selected3.4
Judgment and Decision Making3.13.0Not selected3.0
Complex Problem Solving3.03.1Not selected3.1
Active Learning3.03.0Not selected3.0
Instructing3.03.0Not selected3.0
Systems Analysis3.03.0Not selected3.0

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
DE$81,530802025
Chicago, IL$81,4407102025
Waterbury, CT$78,280602025
Philadelphia, PA$75,4703302025
Provo, UT$74,780302025
Salt Lake City, UT$74,6101102025
Ogden, UT$73,970402025
New York, NY$72,8609402025
UT$72,8002402025
Stockton, CA$70,830402025
Cedar Rapids, IA$70,280602025
Des Moines, IA$70,1001102025
Omaha, NE$69,900802025
IL$69,6001,3202025
NJ$69,1105802025
Reading, PA$66,470302025
Lancaster, PA$65,250402025
York, PA$64,910402025
Harrisburg, PA$64,450402025
NE$64,3102102025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.