The Rising Cremation Rate in Seattle

Seattle Officials said today that cremation rates are increasing in Seattle as well as across the state of Washington. This has raised questions about the cost of memorial services and the average cremation price compared to traditional services and related costs. 

As the nuclear family has gone the way of the dinosaurs, so has traditional interment of the dead. Far-flung, disconnected family members who live hundreds of miles from home find the prospect of burial in a strange place a little disconcerting. 

The lightweight ashes can be transported anywhere in the world by the United States Post Office or other carrier for a small cost. Relatives sometimes hold their loved ones indefinitely or postpone scattering the ashes. Some relatives keep their loved ones in an urn above ground. The average cost of cremation is so small that many states opt to cremate the poor and the destitute when they die. The cost of cremations is only half the cost of interment, though most options add to the price. 

Planning a memorial service for a loved one does not have to be a hassle or cause financial hardship. What is the average cost for cremation? The national average amounts to $1200 to $1600 -- twice what it costs to have a no-frills cremation in Seattle. That might be one factor in the rise of cremations in the Seattle area. 

American Cremation and Casket Alliance, a full service, 24-hour funeral home in Seattle, lists their basic, no-frills cremation service at $574. This means no viewing or visitation of the deceased and does not include a memorial service. By comparison, a low-cost, no memorial service burial starts at just under $900. Planning a memorial service to follow the cremation would increase the cost of cremation to $2770. The bigger cremation package includes the care of the body, hiring clergy, picking the music, arranging obits and announcements in the newspaper, the cost of cremation, arranging transportation of the remains and supervision of the memorial service.

American Cremation and Casket Alliance's website gives clients a place to arrange a cremation and plan a memorial service. Their mission is to make a cremation as easy as possible. Simple funeral arrangements and affordable cremations are another factor increasing the number of cremations in Seattle. If the average cremation cost and the cost of the memorial service are low, the public is willing to consider the possibility. Picking up the ashes at the funeral home is the low cost alternative to shipping, another reason people opt for cremation services in Seattle. 

The low cost of cremation, the dispersion of the nuclear family and a skepticism of the traditional burial option is driving the number of cremations up in the Seattle market. The bad economy is contributing to the switch to cremation. Expensive coffins and services do not necessarily attract consumers in a bad economy. With the rise in cremations services in Seattle going from 35% to 65% in a decade, funeral homes have suffered. The amount of space available for interment is also contributing to the rise in cremation.

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