Sort out tomorrow's staffing
Match upcoming funerals to available staff and move people where two services overlap before you set tomorrow's plan.
Career profile
Funeral Home Manager
Funeral home managers run the staff, schedules and finances of a funeral home.
One hour you might help a family decide what the service will include. Later, you figure out which staff will cover tomorrow's funerals.
A day in the life
Plan a service with family
Sit with relatives and let them take their time saying what they want in the service and obituary.
Dig into rising costs
Review income and costs, trace rising expenses, and judge whether spending or service prices need a closer look.
Check a family's itemized bill
Confirm the itemized statement matches price lists and that staff explain fees clearly and hand over required papers.
Quick facts
Associate’s degree + experience
United States · 2025
$78,790/year
United States · May 2025
4.1% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Associate’s degree + experienceTypical preparation includes related work experience; licensing requirements depend on the state.
Pay
$78,790/yearNational manager median; about $37.88/hour when divided by 2,080 work hours.
Outlook
4.1% projected growthAbout 2,600 manager openings per year nationally, averaged over 2025–2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You can listen patiently while keeping track of details.
- You like coordinating people and making business decisions.
Things to weigh
- On-call duty and evening or weekend work can interrupt personal plans.
- You handle complaints and money discussions while families are grieving.
Where AI may help
Some funeral software can coordinate event staffing and use artificial intelligence (AI) to draft obituaries from case details.
What people still lead
You still lead family conversations, resolve complaints, and decide how staff and money are used.
What we can’t predict yet
How much drafting and coordination can be automated without creating more checking work remains uncertain.
Pay in context
Earnings
The median is a midpoint for managers, not a starting salary for someone entering funeral service.
The national spread
The lowest-paid 10% earned under $49,700; the highest-paid 10% earned over $156,400. These are wage percentiles, not steps on a promotion ladder.
Pay in death care services
Managers in this industry had a median of $78,810. When comparing offers, ask about scheduled hours, on-call coverage, and any bonus terms.
Openings include replacement hiring
The projected 2,600 annual openings include replacing departing workers as well as growth. They are not a count of current vacancies.
Getting started
Prepare for funeral directing
- What the route involves
- Study funeral service or mortuary science, including business, science, and funeral law, with practical learning in a funeral home.
- What it can lead to
- A qualifying program supplies the education portion of the route toward funeral director licensure.
- What to check
- Check your state before enrolling. Required education, minimum age, supervised training, and state or national examinations vary; graduation alone does not grant a license.
Build experience, then pursue management
- What the route involves
- Work as a funeral director, then build experience with staff schedules, financial reports, and service problems.
- What it can lead to
- That experience prepares you to seek responsibility for a funeral home’s operations and employees.
Management usually follows several years as a funeral director or mortician. These are connected steps toward that responsibility.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization. This path also has a credential or licensing boundary; see the requirements and limits.
Get established
Learn the home’s schedules and records so you can catch missed details.
Develop your judgment
Build skill in budgeting and coaching staff through recurring service problems.
Lead several locations
A possible next step is overseeing location managers and financial performance across several funeral homes.
Where you can work
A funeral home
Your day can move between family meeting rooms, service spaces, and the office, keeping you close to both families and staff.
- Indoors
- Office
- On call
A group of funeral homes
Some roles oversee several locations. You work through location leaders and coordinate staffing priorities, costs, and business targets across the group.
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Sketch a fictional afternoon with two funeral services, one meeting room, and three staff members. Assign coverage, then remove one staff member and revise the plan. Notice whether working through the conflict interests or frustrates you.
Stay safe: Use invented names and events, not a real family’s information.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 11-9171.00 — Funeral Home Managers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Funeral Service Workers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- American Board of Funeral Service Education. Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Service Corporation International. Funeral Home Manager — Columbia, Mississippi. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Funeral Rule. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Passare. 2026 Release Notes. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Passare. AI Obituary Writer. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Information and Instructions for Funeral Director Licensure. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed 2026-10-04.