The average cost of a funeral in the state of Texas is $5,451, which is only slightly above the national average. Due to localized differences in median household incomes, Texas funeral costs can be either less or more affordable depending on which city you live in. In this article, we break down the costs and affordability of funerals in Texas, weighing these costs relative to local wages.
Table of Contents
- Cities with most affordable funerals in Texas
- Cities with most expensive funerals in Texas
- Full list of funeral costs in Texas by city
- Methodology
Cities with the most affordable funerals in Texas
| City | Avg. Funeral Cost | Avg. Funeral Cost as % of Income | Difference from State Average |
| Keller, TX | $4,810 | 4% | -12% |
| Lake Jackson, TX | $3,180 | 4% | -42% |
| Midlothian, TX | $3,295 | 4% | -40% |
| Pearland, TX | $4,226 | 4% | -22% |
| Colleyville, TX | $7,510 | 4% | 38% |
| Denton, TX | $2,543 | 5% | -53% |
| Burleson, TX | $3,580 | 5% | -34% |
| Friendswood, TX | $5,060 | 5% | -7% |
| Deer park, TX | $4,215 | 5% | -23% |
| Mansfield, TX | $5,098 | 5% | -6% |
Keller, TX
Funerals in Keller are among the most affordable in the state. They cost, on average, just $4,810. While that may seem high at first, the median household income in Keller is north of $130,000. That means families in Keller are paying an average of just 3.6% of their annual household income on funeral costs.
Keller is unusual in this regard, because many surrounding cities rank much worse for affordability.
Lake Jackson, TX
Lake Jackson, TX is one of the smallest cities on our list, with a population of 26,849. Households in Lake Jackson earn $82,282 according to the most recent census data. Funerals, on the the other hand, cost $3,180. That means funeral costs represent just 3.86% of total annual household income.
Midlothian, TX
Midlothian is located in Ellis County, just 25 miles from Dallas (which ranked as the most expensive city in the state for funeral costs). The city has a median household income of $83,378 and an average funeral cost of just $3,295. That means funeral costs here represent just under 4% of the average total annual income.
Pearland, TX
Pearland is part of the Houston – Woodlands – Sugar Land metropolitan area and ranks as the 4th most affordable city for funerals in the state. Funerals in Pearland cost $4,226 on average. With a median household income of $102,891, residents are paying 4.11% of their annual income to deal with these end-of-life expenses.
Colleyville, TX
Colleyville is a city in northeastern Tarrant County, and is a suburban region between Dallas and Forth Worth. Funerals here are the 5th most affordable in the state – costing $7,510 on average. While that absolute cost is higher than many parts of the country, median household incomes are also among the highest in the country here. The median income is $175,369, meaning those funeral costs represent just 4.28% of what a family might make inside a year.
Cities with the most expensive funerals in Texas
| City | Funeral Cost | Funeral Cost as % of Income | Difference from State Average |
| Dallas, TX | $7,831 | 16% | 44% |
| College Station, TX | $6,370 | 15% | 17% |
| Lancaster, TX | $7,735 | 15% | 42% |
| Richardson, TX | $11,318 | 14% | 108% |
| Nacogdoches, TX | $4,932 | 14% | -10% |
| Duncanville, TX | $7,440 | 13% | 36% |
| Paris, TX | $4,554 | 13% | -16% |
| Kingsville, TX | $5,097 | 13% | -7% |
| Lufkin, TX | $5,807 | 13% | 7% |
| San Juan, TX | $4,775 | 13% | -12% |
Dallas, TX
Dallas is the ninth most-populous city in the U.S. and the third largest city in Texas after Houston and San Antonio. It’s home to one of the most famous sports teams in the country – the Dallas Cowboys.
Funerals in Dallas cost, on average, $7,831. That’s a whopping 16% of the city’s median household income of $50,100. This makes Dallas the least affordable place for funerals in the entire state.
College Station, TX
Funerals in College Station run around $6,370. Given the city’s median household income is just $42,964, that makes the city the second least affordable place in the state for funerals. Residents will have to surrender 15% of their annual household income to cover the cost of a typical funeral.
Lancaster, TX
Residents of Lancaster spend around $7,735 for a full funeral service (including burial). That is roughly 14% of the median household income in the city. Perhaps unsurprising, given Lancaster’s proximity to Dallas – which is at the top of our list for least affordable parts of the state.
Richardson, TX
Richardson is the third city in Dallas County to make our list of cities with the least affordable funeral costs in Texas. Residents who use local funeral homes can expect to pay as much as $11,318 for a funeral – including a visitation, body transportation and burial.
Though incomes in Richardson are higher than many other parts of the state, the funeral costs here are still high – representing 14% of the city’s median annual income.
Nacogdoches, TX
Nacogdoches, a small city in East Texas, has a population of just 34,420, making it one of the smaller cities on our list. Funerals in Nacogdoches cost, on average, $4,932. While that’s lower than many other cities on our list, the median household incomes here are also fairly low at $35,670.
That means a funeral in Nacogdoches will cost residents 13.83% of their annual household income.
Funeral Costs and Affordability in Texas
Below is a full list of the 100 cities we looked at in this study, listed in alphabetical order. Take a look to see how much funerals cost in the Lonestar State, and how they compare to one another.
| Rank | City | Avg. Funeral Cost | Avg. Funeral Cost as % of Income |
| 46 | Abilene, TX | $4,180 | 8.77% |
| 80 | Allen, TX | $12,220 | 11.45% |
| 58 | Alvin, TX | $5,041 | 9.39% |
| 32 | Amarillo, TX | $4,175 | 7.95% |
| 59 | Arlington, TX | $5,583 | 9.54% |
| 26 | Austin, TX | $5,152 | 7.64% |
| 30 | Baytown, TX | $4,316 | 7.76% |
| 63 | Beaumont, TX | $4,579 | 9.71% |
| 43 | Belton, TX | $4,633 | 8.64% |
| 73 | Brownsville, TX | $3,869 | 10.60% |
| 61 | Bryan, TX | $4,293 | 9.60% |
| 7 | Burleson, TX | $3,580 | 4.63% |
| 76 | Carrollton, TX | $8,355 | 11.02% |
| 14 | Cedar Hill, TX | $3,930 | 5.59% |
| 64 | Cedar Park, TX | $9,935 | 9.76% |
| 24 | Cleburne, TX | $3,650 | 7.26% |
| 99 | College Station, TX | $6,370 | 14.83% |
| 5 | Colleyville, TX | $7,510 | 4.28% |
| 74 | Conroe, TX | $6,100 | 10.66% |
| 12 | Coppell, TX | $6,805 | 5.50% |
| 53 | Copperas Cove, TX | $4,743 | 9.00% |
| 44 | Corpus Christi, TX | $4,829 | 8.67% |
| 100 | Dallas, TX | $7,831 | 15.63% |
| 9 | Deer Park, TX | $4,215 | 5.29% |
| 56 | Denison, TX | $4,159 | 9.19% |
| 6 | Denton, TX | $2,543 | 4.50% |
| 90 | Desoto, TX | $8,865 | 12.86% |
| 95 | Duncanville, TX | $7,440 | 13.47% |
| 41 | Edinburg, TX | $3,934 | 8.39% |
| 27 | El Paso, TX | $3,496 | 7.66% |
| 48 | Fort Worth, TX | $5,255 | 8.87% |
| 8 | Friendswood, TX | $5,060 | 4.86% |
| 51 | Frisco, TX | $11,408 | 8.97% |
| 69 | Galveston, TX | $4,548 | 10.13% |
| 78 | Garland, TX | $6,607 | 11.20% |
| 29 | Georgetown, TX | $5,538 | 7.76% |
| 25 | Granbury, TX | $3,365 | 7.42% |
| 75 | Grand Prairie, TX | $6,969 | 10.68% |
| 22 | Grapevine, TX | $5,858 | 6.83% |
| 70 | Greenville, TX | $4,226 | 10.32% |
| 50 | Harker Heights, TX | $6,500 | 8.95% |
| 54 | Harlingen, TX | $3,551 | 9.15% |
| 87 | Houston, TX | $6,422 | 12.56% |
| 83 | Huntsville, TX | $3,787 | 11.78% |
| 35 | Hurst, TX | $4,938 | 8.03% |
| 57 | Irving, TX | $5,717 | 9.23% |
| 1 | Keller, TX | $4,810 | 3.61% |
| 82 | Killeen, TX | $5,831 | 11.57% |
| 93 | Kingsville, TX | $5,097 | 13.28% |
| 21 | Kyle, TX | $5,110 | 6.83% |
| 2 | Lake Jackson, TX | $3,180 | 3.86% |
| 98 | Lancaster, TX | $7,735 | 14.51% |
| 42 | Laredo, TX | $3,745 | 8.64% |
| 15 | League City, TX | $6,275 | 5.99% |
| 33 | Leander, TX | $7,418 | 8.03% |
| 11 | Lewisville, TX | $3,382 | 5.36% |
| 79 | Longview, TX | $5,401 | 11.26% |
| 65 | Lubbock, TX | $4,756 | 9.77% |
| 92 | Lufkin, TX | $5,807 | 13.26% |
| 10 | Mansfield, TX | $5,098 | 5.30% |
| 49 | Mcallen, TX | $4,205 | 8.89% |
| 47 | Mckinney, TX | $7,925 | 8.81% |
| 84 | Mesquite, TX | $6,652 | 11.86% |
| 17 | Midland, TX | $5,202 | 6.52% |
| 3 | Midlothian, TX | $3,295 | 3.95% |
| 28 | Mission, TX | $3,685 | 7.74% |
| 96 | Nacogdoches, TX | $4,932 | 13.83% |
| 36 | New Braunfels, TX | $5,435 | 8.05% |
| 39 | Odessa, TX | $5,138 | 8.14% |
| 94 | Paris, TX | $4,554 | 13.46% |
| 71 | Pasadena, TX | $5,533 | 10.37% |
| 4 | Pearland, TX | $4,226 | 4.11% |
| 37 | Pflugerville, TX | $7,130 | 8.08% |
| 66 | Pharr, TX | $3,885 | 9.87% |
| 52 | Plano, TX | $8,280 | 8.99% |
| 85 | Port Arthur, TX | $4,272 | 12.21% |
| 97 | Richardson, TX | $11,318 | 13.98% |
| 20 | Rockwall, TX | $6,250 | 6.77% |
| 19 | Rosenberg, TX | $3,373 | 6.63% |
| 55 | Rowlett, TX | $8,831 | 9.17% |
| 31 | Sachse, TX | $7,925 | 7.83% |
| 45 | San Antonio, TX | $4,460 | 8.75% |
| 62 | San Benito, TX | $2,720 | 9.65% |
| 91 | San Juan, TX | $4,775 | 13.08% |
| 81 | San Marcos, TX | $4,333 | 11.53% |
| 23 | Schertz, TX | $5,804 | 7.02% |
| 40 | Seguin, TX | $4,048 | 8.30% |
| 34 | Sherman, TX | $3,768 | 8.03% |
| 18 | Sugar Land, TX | $8,045 | 6.58% |
| 38 | Temple, TX | $4,222 | 8.08% |
| 89 | Texarkana, TX | $5,328 | 12.62% |
| 68 | Texas City, TX | $4,614 | 10.03% |
| 86 | Tyler, TX | $6,052 | 12.29% |
| 77 | Victoria, TX | $5,860 | 11.19% |
| 72 | Waco, TX | $3,944 | 10.45% |
| 13 | Waxahachie, TX | $3,486 | 5.53% |
| 60 | Weatherford, TX | $5,992 | 9.57% |
| 88 | Weslaco, TX | $5,523 | 12.60% |
| 67 | Wichita Falls, TX | $4,552 | 10.01% |
| 16 | Wylie, TX | $5,840 | 6.24% |
Methodology
The data for funeral costs comes from funeral homes in each city. The Federal Trade Commission requires funeral homes to to give consumers accurate, itemized price information and various other disclosures about funeral goods and services provided – this is known as the Funeral Rule. The costs for a funeral per city were determined by looking at costs for a funeral that involves:
- Basic services from funeral home staff
- Use of viewing facilities
- Transfer of remains to the funeral home and to a gravesite
- And the cost of a direct burial
We obtained income data for each city from publicly available records.
Affordability was then ranked by simply comparing median household income data to that of funeral costs within each city.
