Charlotte hosted the National Funeral Directors Association convention this past weekend. The Charlotte Observer ran a story Saturday that contained some interesting numbers of the funeral industry:
In 2001, just over a quarter of Americans who died were cremated; by 2011, that rose to 42 percent, and the number is expected to keep rising.
Charlotte is an expensive place to die:
Charlotte is the sixth-most expensive city to hold a funeral in the nation, according a survey this August by research and funeral planning firm Everest Funeral. Local funeral parlors have said a high degree of consolidation in the local marketplace has kept prices high.
The average cost in Charlotte for a tradition funeral service is $5,368, and the average cost of a direct cremation is $2,403. That compares with a national average in metro areas of $4,877 for traditional funerals and $1,816 for cremation, according to Everest.
