Every year, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) surveys American consumers about how they think about, research, and arrange funerals. The 2025 edition — the 14th annual NFDA Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study — surveyed 1,126 Americans age 40 and older in spring 2025. The authors note that this year’s respondent pool skewed older and lower-income than 2024, and that 2024 was itself an anomaly; the 2025 results more closely reflect historical norms and the 2023 findings.
What the study reveals is more nuanced than the simple “digital planning is booming” narrative. The real story is about a tension families navigate every time they face these decisions: the desire for convenience and independence on one side, and the irreplaceable value of human expertise and compassion on the other. The data shows clearly how people want those two things combined.
The NFDA is the largest funeral industry trade association in the United States, representing approximately 10,000 funeral homes. Their annual consumer study is considered the most comprehensive source for understanding how Americans approach funeral planning — how they find providers, what influences their decisions, how confident they feel, and how their preferences are evolving year to year.
The 2025 study is the 14th edition of this survey series, begun in 2012. Its consistency over time is part of what makes individual findings meaningful — when something shifts year over year, it reflects a genuine trend, not sampling noise. Where 2025 shows changes from 2024, the authors are careful to note which shifts may reflect the older, lower-income demographic and which represent genuine behavioral trends.
of those who had planned a funeral were able to make all arrangements online — down from 37.4% in 2024
NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study (primary source, page 4)
The press coverage of this study often leads with a “digital surge” narrative — and the long-term direction is clearly digital. But the 2025 primary source data tells a more careful story. Of the 75% of respondents who had personally been involved in planning a funeral, 29.2% completed all arrangements entirely online. That number is actually down from 37.4% in 2024 — a decrease the study authors attribute partly to the older demographic of this year’s respondent pool.
What remained stable — and this is the more telling data point — is the hybrid path: 39.4% started their arrangements online and then finished with a funeral director in person. That rate has been consistent at approximately 39–41% for three consecutive years (40.8% in 2024, 41.3% in 2023). It doesn’t surge or fall. It is simply the way a large, consistent portion of families plan funerals.
A note on demographics and context: The NFDA study authors note that 2024’s respondent pool was an anomaly — younger and higher-income than typical. The 2025 numbers, with 32.2% of respondents over age 60 and 55.4% earning under $50,000, align more closely with 2023 and historical norms. Where 2025 and 2024 differ sharply, the difference often reflects this demographic shift rather than a sudden behavioral change. The 29.2% fully-online rate in 2025 vs. 37.4% in 2024 is a prime example — older respondents are less likely to complete everything online.
Facebook’s role as a funeral home discovery channel continues to grow — but the scale of growth is even more dramatic than headlines report. According to the primary study, 40% of respondents on Facebook had used the services of a funeral home they found there. For context: in 2018, the first year this question was asked, that figure was just 2.4%. This represents a sixteen-fold increase over seven years, not a doubling over two.
of respondents said they would be very likely, likely, or somewhat likely to contact a funeral director for help with arrangements
NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study (primary source, page 13)
This is the finding that puts the entire digital planning conversation in proper context. Nine in ten Americans — regardless of their comfort with online tools — would still reach out to a funeral director or funeral professional for help with arrangements. The desire for professional guidance hasn’t been replaced by digital convenience; it coexists with it.
The confidence data makes this even clearer. While 55.6% of respondents said they would feel at least somewhat confident planning without a funeral director’s help, that figure is down from 62.8% in 2024. Put the other way: about 44% would feel not very confident or not at all confident planning a funeral without professional guidance. That number is growing, not shrinking, as digital tools become more available.
of those who made some arrangements online said it was a good experience but they still needed a funeral director
felt they did not get the personalized service they would have received planning in person
These numbers are from people who actually tried online planning — not hypothetical preferences. Nearly half had a positive experience and still needed professional help. Another 13.5% felt the online process lacked the personalized, compassionate quality of working with a director in person. Only 38.9% said they were fully satisfied and accomplished everything they needed entirely online.
This isn’t a critique of online planning tools. It’s a description of the nature of funeral planning itself: the decisions involved carry emotional weight, involve family dynamics, cultural and religious considerations, and questions that don’t always have obvious answers. For most people, having an expert available when those moments arise isn’t optional — it’s necessary.
There is also a striking behavioral finding: 54.7% of those who had planned a funeral contacted or visited only one funeral home — up from 47.5% the prior year. More than half of families make one of their largest at-need financial decisions without any comparison shopping. Pre-planning with an independent service changes this dynamic entirely, because the research happens before grief and time pressure set in.
cited affordability as their top reason for choosing a funeral home — up from 14.4% in 2024, now the single leading factor
NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study (primary source, page 6)
For the first time in recent survey history, affordability ranked as the single most cited reason for choosing a funeral home — surpassing an existing relationship with the funeral director (15.8%) and availability (9.3%). This shift aligns with the economic profile of the 2025 respondent pool: 55.4% earned less than $50,000 annually, compared with 36.5% in 2024 and 37.3% in 2023.
The NFDA authors note that 2024’s respondent pool was the anomaly, and that 2025 aligns more closely with historical demographic norms. In other words, this income profile is not an outlier — it may be closer to the realistic baseline of who is actively seeking funeral planning services and information.
What does affordability pressure mean for families planning ahead? It makes pre-planning more valuable, not less. Research consistently shows that families who pre-plan spend 20%–40% less on funeral services than families making decisions in crisis. On a median funeral cost of approximately $8,300, that represents $1,660 to $3,320 in potential savings. The mechanism is simple: when you research providers, compare prices, and document preferences in advance — while clear-headed and without time pressure — you make better financial decisions. Families at the funeral home the day after a loss, without a plan, are among the most financially vulnerable consumers in any industry.
The study also found that 57.4% of respondents desire to know more about end-of-life options — a consistent, year-over-year finding that signals how much unmet demand exists for accessible, pressure-free planning guidance.
prefer a hybrid prearrangement model — online planning combined directly with a funeral professional — a brand new response option introduced for the first time in 2025
NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study (primary source, page 17)
The 31.8% hybrid preference is the finding most directly relevant to how Legacy of Love is built — but the full context of the prearrangement data makes it even more telling. The 2025 survey introduced “a combination of both” (online and directly with a funeral professional) as a new response option. Even as a first-year option with no prior year comparison, it immediately captured nearly a third of all respondents.
Meanwhile, the share preferring entirely online prearrangement fell from 19.5% in 2024 to 12.9% in 2025. And the share preferring to work only with a funeral director fell from 80.5% in 2024 to 55.3% in 2025. The movement isn’t from “in-person only” to “fully online” — it’s from “in-person only” to “a combination of both.”
This is the most important structural finding in the entire study for anyone evaluating how to plan a funeral. When given the explicit option of combining online convenience with direct expert access, nearly one in three people chose it immediately — in the first year it was offered as an option. The demand was clearly there before the question was even asked.
The 84.7% of respondents who agreed that “a funeral is for the living, to help them begin their grief journey” underscores why this matters: a documented pre-plan, created while the family is clear-headed, is itself an act of care for the people who will be grieving. It removes decisions from the most vulnerable moment and puts them in the most capable one.
of those who pre-planned and prepaid did so so their survivors would not have to pay — the single most cited motivation
NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study (primary source, page 17)
Of the 19.4% of respondents who had preplanned and prepaid their arrangements, the study reveals a clear picture of why:
That last figure deserves attention. More than one in four people who pre-planned and prepaid did so specifically for Medicaid spend-down purposes. This is not a fringe planning strategy — it is a primary motivation for more than a quarter of those who have already taken action. For seniors navigating long-term care eligibility, an irrevocable funeral trust structured for Medicaid compliance is one of the most practical financial tools available. Legacy of Love offers this option; many funeral planning services and final expense insurance products — including well-known programs like Lincoln Heritage's Funeral Advantage, Dignity Memorial, and Neptune Society — do not.
The top motivation — protecting survivors from having to pay — reflects the same value that drives the entire pre-planning conversation: the most generous thing you can do for your family is to remove financial and logistical burdens from the moment they will be least equipped to handle them.
Read together, the five findings above describe the same family: someone who wants to research options and start the process from home, at their own pace, without walking into a funeral home or sitting through a sales appointment — but who also wants a knowledgeable, compassionate professional available when questions arise or when the emotional weight of the decisions calls for it. Someone who cares about cost, who wants their family protected from overspending under grief, and who may have specific financial planning needs around Medicaid or estate protection.
If you’re thinking about pre-planning — for yourself or someone you love — here is what the 2025 NFDA study suggests you should look for:
Legacy of Love was built around exactly this model. Funeral planning is completely FREE with no obligation. You can start entirely online, involve one of our local counselors as much or as little as you wish — by phone, email, or video conference — and your completed plan and any associated insurance funding are fully portable and usable at any licensed funeral home in the United States. For families with Medicaid planning needs, we offer irrevocable funeral trust options structured for spend-down compliance. And for families who want hands-on support at time of need, our optional Funeral Concierge Service handles every logistical detail so no one in your family has to.
For funeral professionals, the 2025 NFDA study carries several signals worth noting carefully. The 54.7% of families who contacted only one funeral home — without comparing alternatives — represents a behavioral pattern that pre-planning with independent services is designed to address. As more families start the research process online before any need arises, the providers who capture that early research moment gain a durable advantage.
The affordability finding is particularly pointed: 18.4% of respondents cited price as their primary selection factor, up from 14.4% in 2024, making it the single leading driver for the first time. Combined with the income shift — 55.4% earning under $50,000, consistent with 2023 and historical norms — this suggests that cost transparency and pre-need affordability are not secondary concerns; they are primary ones for the majority of the market.
The 31.8% hybrid preference, introduced as a new response option for the first time in 2025, immediately became the second most popular prearrangement model. This is a strong signal that the market is ready for services that combine digital access with human expertise — and that providers positioned at that intersection are well-placed as consumer preferences continue to evolve away from fully in-person, captive-agent models.
The 2025 NFDA study shows what families want: the ability to start online, with expert guidance available when they need it, at a price they can afford. That’s exactly how Legacy of Love works — and it starts for FREE.
Start My Free Funeral Plan →The 2025 NFDA Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study doesn’t tell a simple story about technology replacing tradition. It tells a story about what people actually need when they face one of life’s most difficult planning decisions: the convenience to start on their own terms, the expertise to navigate the complexity, and the financial protection that comes from planning before grief takes over. The data on Medicaid planning, on the single-funeral-home bias, on the rising importance of affordability — none of it changes the fundamental conclusion. Planning ahead, with an independent service that advocates for you rather than for any funeral home, remains the most protective thing a family can do.
If you’ve been thinking about getting your wishes documented — or helping a parent do the same — there is no better moment than now, while decisions can be made clearly and calmly. Start Your FREE Funeral Plan Here » or call us at 833-888-0355.
SOURCES
* Legacy of Love is not affiliated with the National Funeral Directors Association. Statistics cited in this article are drawn from the NFDA 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Survey primary source document and publicly available NFDA research. Pre-planning savings estimates are based on NFDA General Price List Survey data. All percentages are reported as published in the primary source.
