HomeFuneral costs by stateCaliforniaSan Francisco
How much does a funeral cost in San Francisco, CA?
A traditional burial with a service in the San Francisco metro area averages $8,670 at the funeral home. Once the cemetery has billed, families typically pay closer to $17,790, which is about 9% above the California figure of $16,300. The metro takes in Oakland and Fremont as well as San Francisco.
What San Francisco 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 Francisco area with a direct cremation price we hold. The middle one charges $1,695. College Chapel Mortuary in San Francisco is recorded at $737, Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary in Fremont at $2,795, which is 3.8 times the price for the same service inside one metropolitan area.
Of the 37, 4 come in under $1,000, 25 sit between $1,000 and $1,999, and 8 between $2,000 and $2,999. 36 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 $420 less than the $1,716 average.
| Funeral home | Where | Direct cremation | Basic services fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Chapel Mortuary | San Francisco, CA | $737 | $1,395 |
| Pacific Interment Service | San Francisco, CA | $850 | $375 |
| Lewis & Ribbs Mortuary | San Francisco, CA | $958 | $1,995 |
| Bryant Mortuary | San Francisco, CA | $975 | $1,825 |
| Thompson's Funeral Home | Oakland, CA | $1,200 | $1,695 |
| Whitted-Atkins Funeral Home | Oakland, CA | $1,200 | $1,495 |
| Thompson's Bayview Mortuary | San Francisco, CA | $1,200 | $1,695 |
| Colonial Chapel | Oakland, CA | $1,295 | $1,345 |
| Baker-Atkins Mortuary | Oakland, CA | $1,390 | $1,495 |
| C.P. Bannon Mortuary, Inc. | Oakland, CA | $1,440 | $1,950 |
| McAvoy O'Hara Funeral Home | San Francisco, CA | $1,480 | $1,800 |
| Fouche's Hudson Funeral Home | Oakland, CA | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| WFG Fuller Funerals | Oakland, CA | $1,500 | $2,350 |
| Fremont Chapel of the Roses | Fremont, CA | $1,595 | $2,100 |
| Fremont Memorial Chapel | Fremont, CA | $1,595 | $2,100 |
| Nautilus Society | Oakland, CA | $1,595 | $975 |
| Sacred Space Memorial | Oakland, CA | $1,595 | $1,300 |
| Sinai Memorial Chapel - Chevra Kadisha | San Francisco, CA | $1,670 | $2,475 |
| Berge-Pappas-Smith Chapel of Angels | Fremont, CA | $1,695 | $1,450 |
| Trident Society - Fremont | Fremont, CA | $1,732 | $750 |
| Holy Angels/Cooper Mortuary | Oakland, CA | $1,845 | $1,650 |
| McNary, Williams, Jackson Mortuary | Oakland, CA | $1,880 | $1,580 |
| Valente, Marini, Perata & Company | San Francisco, CA | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| St. Mary Cemetery & Funeral Center | Oakland, CA | $1,945 | $1,650 |
| Holy Sepulchre Cemetery & Funeral Center | Oakland, CA | $1,950 | $1,650 |
| Halsted N. GrayCarew & English Funeral Home | San Francisco, CA | $1,975 | $2,225 |
| Green Street Mortuary | San Francisco, CA | $1,991 | $2,388 |
| Neptune Society of Northern California - Oakland | Oakland, CA | $1,995 | $780 |
| San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home | San Francisco, CA | $1,995 | $780 |
| Driscoll's Valencia St. Serra | San Francisco, CA | $2,190 | $1,490 |
| Chapel of the Chimes, Oakland | Oakland, CA | $2,195 | $2,650 |
| Smart CremationOakland Regional Office | Oakland, CA | $2,200 | |
| Brown, Albert, Mortuary | Oakland, CA | $2,295 | $2,195 |
| Piedmont Funeral Services, Inc. | Oakland, CA | $2,370 | $2,750 |
| Lifemark Service Center | San Francisco, CA | $2,385 | $2,850 |
| Sullivan's & Duggan's Serra Funeral Services | San Francisco, CA | $2,400 | $1,950 |
| Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary | Fremont, CA | $2,795 | $3,395 |
Recorded from the Parting funeral home directory in September 2026. The source publishes no date of its own. 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 Francisco
- Funeral home services, viewing and ceremony$5,960
- Casket, standard$2,710
- Cemetery plot$3,900
- Opening and closing the grave$1,210
- Burial vault or grave liner$1,840
- Headstone or marker$2,170
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 Francisco. The funeral home lines are scaled by what these 36 homes charge against the California median, a factor of 1.08, and the plot by local land prices.
What makes up the $17,790 in San Francisco
| Item | Billed by | San Francisco | California |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funeral service with viewing | Funeral home | $5,960 | $5,520 |
| Casket, standard steel | Funeral home | $2,710 | $2,650 |
| Cemetery plot | Cemetery | $3,900 | $3,090 |
| Opening and closing the grave | Cemetery | $1,210 | $1,120 |
| Burial vault or grave liner | Cemetery | $1,840 | $1,800 |
| Headstone or marker | Monument dealer | $2,170 | $2,120 |
| Total | $17,790 | $16,300 |
The 36 published fees above put San Francisco at $1,748 against $1,495 across California, so the funeral home lines carry a factor of 1.08, that ratio pulled toward the state by how many homes stand behind it. The plot is the exception, scaled by land prices, San Francisco at 194.7 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 Francisco area
The Census counts 131 death care establishments in the San Francisco metro, meaning funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries, employing about 1,495 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 $2,058. That is 3.8 times the price for the same service, inside one metropolitan area, which is a larger difference than the one between San Francisco and California as a whole.
Cremation in San Francisco
Cremation with a service models out at $6,500 here, about $2,170 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 Francisco homes themselves put the middle direct cremation at $1,695, 37 of them measured, 4 of those under $1,000, which puts roughly $4,805 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 Francisco funeral home
All 37 of the homes listed above owe you the same thing on the telephone, without being told who you are. College Chapel Mortuary at $737 and Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary at $2,795 are the two ends of it. Working down from the $1,695 in the middle of that list is worth $958 before anyone has driven anywhere. What the law requires of California funeral homes sets out the rest.
Covering $17,790 in San Francisco
$17,790 is the number a policy here would be written for, and it is $1,490 more 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 Francisco?
About $17,790 for a burial with a viewing once the cemetery has billed, of which $8,670 goes to the funeral home and $9,120 to the cemetery and the monument dealer. The funeral home half is the Pacific survey median moved by what 36 San Francisco homes actually publish, and the cemetery half by local land prices. They are estimates, not quotes.
Is a funeral more expensive in San Francisco than the rest of California?
Yes, by about 9%, $17,790 against $16,300, and it is mostly the land under the plot rather than the funeral home. Inside the metro the same direct cremation runs from $737 to $2,795, a wider gap than the one between San Francisco and California.
How much does cremation cost in San Francisco?
The middle of the 37 San Francisco area homes we hold a price for charges $1,695 for a direct cremation, from $737 at College Chapel Mortuary up to $2,795 at Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary. Add a service and the model puts it near $6,500. 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 Francisco?
College Chapel Mortuary in San Francisco, at $737, and 3 other San Francisco area homes are also under $1,000. Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary is $2,058 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 $420 on three calls, not as the answer.
Does every San Francisco funeral home charge a basic services fee?
Yes, all of them, and in San Francisco the published ones run $375 to $3,395 with $1,748 in the middle, across the 36 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 College Chapel Mortuary, cheapest here on cremation at $737, asks $1,395 for it.
Other metro areas in California
- Los Angeles$15,820
- San Diego$16,160
- Sacramento$15,990