6 States That Cremate 70% of Dead People

Hello, Nevada (or should we say good-bye?)
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2015 1:49 PM CDT
6 States That Cremate 70% of Dead People
   (Shutterstock)

If you live in Nevada and plan to die there, you'll be in good company should you opt for cremation. According to a cool interactive map created by Slate, 74% of the state's dead were cremated in 2013. That from a country that, as Slate observes, cremated only 4% of the dead five decades ago; the national average is now just under 50%, though the National Funeral Directors Association projects that'll climb to 70.6% by 2030. Credit money (cremation is far cheaper than a traditional funeral), changing habitation patterns (families don't live as close as they once did, meaning gravesites can be tougher to get to), and the fact that cremation is greener for the shift. The six states that, as of 2013, cremated 70% of the dead:

  1. Nevada: 74%
  2. Washington state: 74%
  3. Oregon: 73%
  4. Hawaii: 72%
  5. New Hampshire: 71%
  6. Maine: 70%
The lowest cremation state, at just 18%, also happens to be our most religious. Check out your state on Slate's map. (More cremation stories.)

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