Career Atlas USA

Funeral Attendants

Median salary
$35,680
Average salary
$37,190
Employment
31,090
Projected growth
3.1% growth
Annual openings
5,700
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent

What Funeral Attendants Do

Perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
4.8%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.4/5
  • English Languageimportance 3.9/5
  • Administrativeimportance 3.4/5
  • Transportationimportance 3.0/5
  • Computers and Electronicsimportance 2.9/5
  • Law and Governmentimportance 2.7/5
  • Communications and Mediaimportance 2.7/5
  • Sales and Marketingimportance 2.5/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.5/5
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.2/5
  • Contact With Others4.2/5
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.0/5
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.0/5
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled3.8/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
  • Service Orientationimportance 3.3/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.4/5
  • Time Managementimportance 2.4/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.3/5
  • Operations Monitoringimportance 2.1/5
  • Operation and Controlimportance 2.1/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Empathy
  • Cooperation
  • Sincerity
  • Self-Control
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • RealisticMedium
  • ConventionalMedium
  • SocialMedium
  • EnterprisingMedium
  • ArtisticLow
  • InvestigativeLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where funeral attendants make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Roanoke, VA5.77× national avg
  2. 2Aguadilla, PR4.98× national avg
  3. 3Lynchburg, VA4.97× national avg
  4. 4Saginaw, MI3.84× national avg
  5. 5Terre Haute, IN3.58× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Funeral Attendants →

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →