Gouged After Death: New Report Reveals How Corporate Consolidation and Hidden Pricing Are Driving Up the Cost of Dying

Today, Groundwork Collaborative released a new report exposing how corporate consolidation and a lack of basic price transparency in the funeral industry are driving up costs and forcing grieving families into debt at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

The new report, Death, Debt, and Paperwork: How the Business of Dying is Burying American Families by Groundwork’s Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy, Zoe Butler, analyzes Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find funeral costs have skyrocketed in recent decades, rising 310% since 1986 and now exceeding $7,700 on average, with many services topping $10,000. These costs are often due within days of an individual’s passing, even as families’ assets remain tied up in probate for months and are subject to administrative and legal fees. As a result, more families are forced to take on debt just to bury a loved one. The share of grieving family members taking on debt after a loved one’s death rose from 14% in 2024 to 37% in 2025.

At the same time, the industry operates with little transparency or competition. Corporate consolidation has allowed large firms to raise prices while fewer than one in five funeral homes post prices online, leaving families to make urgent financial decisions without clear information or the ability to comparison shop.

Groundwork’s President and CEO, Lindsay Owens, said:

“No one should be forced into debt just to bury a loved one, but as corporations exploit families at their most vulnerable moments, more and more grieving loved ones are being driven to the brink to pay for a dignified death. Funeral companies are raising prices, hiding costs, and taking advantage of a system that gives grieving families no time and no transparency. Policymakers must act to bring down prices, increase accountability, and ensure families can access what is already theirs without delay.”