Funeral and cremation costs in the Inland Empire and Los Angeles (2026)

How much does a cremation or burial cost in Southern California in 2026?

A direct cremation cost about $1,100 to $5,000 on 2026 price lists. On November 13, 2026, we read 7 general price lists posted online by providers in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties. They were in effect from February to November 2026. The table shows the lowest price on each list. We do not name or rank any provider.

Prices change. The same provider can charge more for another area or a larger person. Get the current list before you agree to anything.

What is not in the advertised price?

Read what the price includes. On the lists we read, these often cost extra:

• Certified copies of the death certificate ($26 each in California in 2026)
• Coroner fees
• Mileage beyond the provider's service area
• Extra days of refrigeration
• An extra charge for a heavier person
• A rush cremation
• An urn
• Shipping or scattering the ashes
• A viewing, service, embalming or casket. On one Inland Empire list, a funeral with viewing and a casket cost $6,305 to $7,165 before cemetery charges.

How do you compare funeral home prices?

Get two or three price lists. Compare the same choice on each, line by line.

1. Step 1

   Ask for the general price list

   Every funeral home must give you its general price list. It must also give you prices over the phone if you ask. In California, a funeral home with a website must post its list of goods and services, or its full price list, on that site.

2. Step 2

   Compare the same choice

   Compare direct cremation with direct cremation, or immediate burial with immediate burial. Check what each includes: transport and how far, refrigeration and for how many days, the container, the crematory fee and permits.

3. Step 3

   Ask what is extra

   Ask what you will pay for death certificates, an urn, mileage and the coroner, if the coroner is involved. Ask whether the crematory fee is in the cremation price.

4. Step 4

   Get the total in writing

   Before you pay, the funeral home must give you an itemized statement of everything you chose and the total. Check it against the price list.

5. Step 5

   Check the license

   Look up the funeral home or crematory on the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau website, cfb.ca.gov, or call the Bureau at (916) 574-7870.

What are your rights when you buy a funeral or cremation?

Federal law (the FTC Funeral Rule) and California law give you these rights.

• Buy only what you want. You do not have to buy a package.
• Get prices by phone, without giving your name.
• Get a written, itemized general price list when you visit, and a casket price list before you see caskets.
• Use a simple container, such as cardboard, instead of a casket for a cremation.
• Bring a casket or urn you bought somewhere else. The funeral home cannot refuse it or charge a handling fee.
• Choose no embalming. The law does not require it except in certain special cases. Direct cremation and immediate burial do not need it.
• Get an itemized statement of what you chose, with prices and the total, before you pay.
• Move the person to another funeral home. California's consumer guide says a funeral home cannot refuse or delay that release because of an unpaid bill.

Where do you complain about a funeral home or crematory?

Talk to the manager first. If that does not settle it, file a complaint with the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau at cfb.ca.gov/consumer/complaints.shtml (opens in a new tab), or call (916) 574-7870 or (800) 952-5210.

The Bureau licenses funeral homes, crematories and private cemeteries. It does not license VA national cemeteries, religious cemeteries or public cemetery districts; contact the group that runs the cemetery. For a store that sells caskets, contact your local district attorney.

What if the family cannot pay for a cremation or burial?

Each county has a program for families who truly cannot pay. It is a last resort, with rules.

Call the county first. These programs run through the county coroner or public administrator. After an expected death on hospice, the coroner is often not involved. Call the county number below and say the person died on hospice.

Read the terms before you sign. In each county you give the county financial information. In some, you give up the choice of what happens to the ashes. San Bernardino County warns that a relative who could have paid can be charged up to three times the county's cost.

California law makes the closest relatives, in a set order, responsible for arranging and paying for the disposition of the body (Health and Safety Code section 7100). The county steps in only when they cannot pay.

What other help is there?

Social Security. A surviving spouse who lived with the person, or certain children, can get a one-time payment of $255. Apply within 2 years of the death. It is paid to the survivor, not to the funeral home. See after a death in California.

Veterans. The VA may pay a burial allowance toward funeral and burial costs. The amount depends on the case and changes each year. A spouse listed in the veteran's VA record may be paid a set amount without filing a claim.

Eligible veterans, their spouses and some dependents can be buried in a VA national cemetery. The VA provides the gravesite, opening and closing, perpetual care, a headstone or marker and a burial flag. The family still pays the funeral home or cremation provider.

In the Inland Empire that is Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Boulevard, Riverside. It takes both casketed and cremated remains. To schedule a burial, the funeral home faxes the discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office and calls 1-800-535-1117. Veterans and family can apply for eligibility ahead of time. See hospice care for veterans.

Life insurance and prepaid plans. Before you choose, check for a life insurance policy, a burial policy or a prepaid funeral contract. The funeral home must give you a copy of any prepaid agreement it holds before you make new arrangements.

Does Medicare, Medi-Cal or hospice pay for the funeral?

No. Medicare's hospice benefit pays for care related to the terminal illness while the person is alive, and grief support for the family afterward. It does not pay for a funeral, burial or cremation. Medi-Cal does not pay for them either.

Hospice care does not include funeral costs, but the hospice social worker can help you plan for them. See below.

Can planning ahead or body donation lower the cost?

Planning ahead. You can compare price lists and choose a provider before a death. Write the person's wishes down where the family can find them.

If you prepay, read what happens if you cancel or the provider changes owners, and which prices are fixed. California's consumer guide says a canceled preneed trust contract is refunded. The funeral home may keep up to 10% of the original contract, taken only from the interest earned.

Whole-body donation to a medical school can replace a cremation. The donor usually registers ahead of time. A body can be turned down at the time of death, so keep a backup plan.

Loma Linda University's Bodies for Science charges $300 for transport within 100 miles of Loma Linda. It must receive the body within 12 hours of death, without embalming. It cannot be combined with organ donation. Ashes are returned to the family only on written request. Call (909) 558-4301.

The UCLA Donated Body Program serves Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Ventura, Kern and Santa Barbara counties. It pays for removal, preservation and final disposition. The family pays only for any service it arranges. It must be told within 24 hours of death. Ashes are not returned. Call 310-794-0372.

Both programs list reasons a body may not be accepted, such as certain infections, weight or an autopsy. Read their pages, and talk with the hospice team early. Put the plan in the person's advance directive.

What the hospice social worker can help with

Ask early. You do not have to decide before the death, though many families find it easier to choose ahead of time. Call (877) 258-7129.

• Finding a funeral home, mortuary or cremation provider, and understanding the choices and costs
• A list of local providers to call, if you have not chosen one
• Finding community resources
• Grief support for the family for 13 months after a death; read bereavement support

Common questions about funeral and cremation costs