HomeFuneral costs by stateCaliforniaSan Diego
How much does a funeral cost in San Diego, CA?
A traditional burial with a service in the San Diego metro area averages $7,590 at the funeral home. Once the cemetery has billed, families typically pay closer to $16,160, which is about 1% below the California figure of $16,300. The metro takes in Chula Vista and Carlsbad as well as San Diego.
What San Diego funeral homes actually charge
Everything below this section is modelled from national survey data. This section is not. These are 37 funeral homes trading across 3 towns in the San Diego area with a direct cremation price we hold. The middle one charges $995. Accu-Care Cremation Center in Carlsbad is recorded at $640, Cypress View Mausoleum, Mortuary & Crematory in San Diego at $2,645, which is 4.1 times the price for the same service inside one metropolitan area.
Of the 37, 19 come in under $1,000, 11 sit between $1,000 and $1,999, and 7 between $2,000 and $2,999. Every one of them publishes a basic services fee as well, the charge you cannot decline whatever else you turn down. Ring three at random rather than one and you would expect to pay $490 less than the $1,344 average.
| Funeral home | Where | Direct cremation | Basic services fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accu-Care Cremation Center | Carlsbad, CA | $640 | $227 |
| American Cremation Service | Carlsbad, CA | $640 | $800 |
| American Cremation Service | San Diego, CA | $640 | $800 |
| San Diego Crematory Service | San Diego, CA | $695 | $1,175 |
| All Faiths Mortuary & Crematory Services | San Diego, CA | $750 | $895 |
| Guadalupana Memorial Chapel & Mortuary | San Diego, CA | $799 | $725 |
| San Diego Central Care Center | San Diego, CA | $799 | $800 |
| Williams San Diego Memorial Chapel | San Diego, CA | $800 | $950 |
| Bayview Cremation & Burial Services | Chula Vista, CA | $805 | $800 |
| Bayview Cremation & Burial Services | San Diego, CA | $805 | $800 |
| Bayview Crematory & Burial Services | San Diego, CA | $805 | $800 |
| Accu-Care Cremation Center | San Diego, CA | $830 | $227 |
| California Cremation & Burial Chapel | San Diego, CA | $876 | $750 |
| Featheringill Mortuary Chapel | San Diego, CA | $895 | $1,395 |
| Village Cremation Service, Inc. | Chula Vista, CA | $995 | $795 |
| Balboa Cremation Services | San Diego, CA | $995 | $795 |
| Funeraria Del Angel San Diego | San Diego, CA | $995 | $1,295 |
| Miramar Memorial Services | San Diego, CA | $995 | $1,295 |
| Preferred Cremation & Burial | San Diego, CA | $995 | $1,295 |
| Lakepointe Cremation & Burial | San Diego, CA | $1,095 | $1,095 |
| Cortez Cremations & Funeral Services | San Diego, CA | $1,395 | $1,995 |
| Community Mortuary | Chula Vista, CA | $1,397 | $1,895 |
| Anderson Ragsdale Mortuary | San Diego, CA | $1,495 | $1,895 |
| Thresholds Home & Family Directed Funerals | San Diego, CA | $1,528 | $1,222 |
| Telophase Cremation Society | San Diego, CA | $1,548 | $300 |
| Orchid Cremations | Carlsbad, CA | $1,595 | $1,000 |
| Am Israel Mortuary | San Diego, CA | $1,595 | $1,685 |
| Trident Society - San Diego | San Diego, CA | $1,732 | $750 |
| InvoCare | San Diego, CA | $1,795 | $1,142 |
| Clairemont Mortuary | San Diego, CA | $1,900 | $2,390 |
| Greenwood Memorial Park & Mortuary | San Diego, CA | $2,140 | $2,595 |
| Beardsley-Mitchell Funeral Home | San Diego, CA | $2,390 | $2,195 |
| Merkley Mitchell Mortuary | San Diego, CA | $2,390 | $2,195 |
| Pacific Beach La Jolla Chapel | San Diego, CA | $2,390 | $2,195 |
| Funeraria Del Angel Chula Vista | Chula Vista, CA | $2,395 | $3,190 |
| El Camino Memorial | San Diego, CA | $2,540 | $2,890 |
| Cypress View Mausoleum, Mortuary & Crematory | San Diego, CA | $2,645 | $2,835 |
Published April 15, 2016 by the Parting funeral home directory. Prices for other homes on this list carry their own dates, shown on each home's page. They are the figures we hold rather than quotes, several are years old, and no funeral home is bound by them.
Estimated burial with a service in San Diego
- Funeral home services, viewing and ceremony$4,890
- Casket, standard$2,700
- Cemetery plot$3,590
- Opening and closing the grave$990
- Burial vault or grave liner$1,830
- Headstone or marker$2,160
Most families have no plan for this
A burial insurance policy is written to cover exactly this amount. It pays out in days rather than months, and for most people over 50 there is no medical exam, only health questions.
The calculator is set to San Diego. The funeral home lines are scaled by what these 37 homes charge against the California median, a factor of 0.89, and the plot by local land prices.
What makes up the $16,160 in San Diego
| Item | Billed by | San Diego | California |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funeral service with viewing | Funeral home | $4,890 | $5,520 |
| Casket, standard steel | Funeral home | $2,700 | $2,650 |
| Cemetery plot | Cemetery | $3,590 | $3,090 |
| Opening and closing the grave | Cemetery | $990 | $1,120 |
| Burial vault or grave liner | Cemetery | $1,830 | $1,800 |
| Headstone or marker | Monument dealer | $2,160 | $2,120 |
| Total | $16,160 | $16,300 |
The 37 published fees above put San Diego at $1,142 against $1,495 across California, so the funeral home lines carry a factor of 0.89, that ratio pulled toward the state by how many homes stand behind it. The plot is the exception, scaled by land prices, San Diego at 179.3 against 154.3 for California (2024 BEA parities). The full working is on the California page.
Why we stopped using a cost of living index for any of this.
Funeral homes in the San Diego area
The Census counts 80 death care establishments in the San Diego metro, meaning funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries, employing about 814 people (2023 County Business Patterns). We hold a direct cremation price for 37 of them, and the spread between the cheapest and the dearest is $2,005. That is 4.1 times the price for the same service, inside one metropolitan area, which is a larger difference than the one between San Diego and California as a whole.
Cremation in San Diego
Cremation with a service models out at $5,340 here, about $2,250 less than a burial at the funeral home because there is no casket, plot, vault or headstone to buy. Strip the service out and the San Diego homes themselves put the middle direct cremation at $995, 37 of them measured, 19 of those under $1,000, which puts roughly $4,345 on the ceremony, the viewing and the staff time around it. For a family choosing on price alone that gap is the whole decision, and it is a bigger number than anything the metro comparison above turns on.
Your rights when you ring a San Diego funeral home
All 37 of the homes listed above owe you the same thing on the telephone, without being told who you are. Accu-Care Cremation Center at $640 and Cypress View Mausoleum, Mortuary & Crematory at $2,645 are the two ends of it. Working down from the $995 in the middle of that list is worth $355 before anyone has driven anywhere. What the law requires of California funeral homes sets out the rest.
Covering $16,160 in San Diego
$16,160 is the number a policy here would be written for, and it is $140 less than the California average, which is the sort of thing people get wrong when they pick a round figure. It pays out in days rather than weeks, and for most people over 50 there is no medical exam.
(786) 818-0383Talk to one of our licensed agentsCommon questions
How much does a funeral cost in San Diego?
About $16,160 for a burial with a viewing once the cemetery has billed, of which $7,590 goes to the funeral home and $8,570 to the cemetery and the monument dealer. The funeral home half is the Pacific survey median moved by what 37 San Diego homes actually publish, and the cemetery half by local land prices. They are estimates, not quotes.
Is a funeral more expensive in San Diego than the rest of California?
No, it is about 1%, $16,160 against $16,300, and it is largely the land under the plot rather than the funeral home. Inside the metro the same direct cremation runs from $640 to $2,645, a wider gap than the one between San Diego and California.
How much does cremation cost in San Diego?
The middle of the 37 San Diego area homes we hold a price for charges $995 for a direct cremation, from $640 at Accu-Care Cremation Center up to $2,645 at Cypress View Mausoleum, Mortuary & Crematory. Add a service and the model puts it near $5,340. Every price here is one we hold rather than a quote, several are years old, and each carries its own date on that home's page.
Which funeral home is cheapest in San Diego?
Accu-Care Cremation Center in Carlsbad, at $640, and 18 other San Diego area homes are also under $1,000. Cypress View Mausoleum, Mortuary & Crematory is $2,005 higher for the same service. Prices move and several of ours are years old, so treat the list as where to start ringing, worth about $490 on three calls, not as the answer.
Does every San Diego funeral home charge a basic services fee?
Yes, all of them, and in San Diego the published ones run $227 to $3,190 with $1,142 in the middle, across the 37 we hold. It is the charge you cannot decline whatever else you turn down, so it sets the floor under everything else on this page, and Accu-Care Cremation Center, cheapest here on cremation at $640, asks $227 for it.
Other metro areas in California
- Los Angeles$15,820
- San Francisco$17,790
- Sacramento$15,990