Cape Cod Funeral Services Prices 2nd Highest in the Nation

HYANNIS – Cape Cod is not just an expensive place to live or vacation, it’s also a costly final resting place.

Cape Cod came in at number 2 on Funeralocity.com’s Top 10 Most Expensive Cities for funeral prices list.

Funeral homes on Cape Cod average $9,455 for a single service, which is more than 27 higher than the national average.

Funeralocity’s CEO and founder Ed Michael Reggie says the high prices are not related to real estate values.

“If that was the case, New York City would have been ahead of [Cape Cod,]” Reggie said.

Instead, the high costs in the region are due to a lack of transparency.

“When opacity of prices are there that no one sees them, what happens is [funeral homes] tend to raise prices,” Reggie said.

This year, the National Funeral Director’s Association’s annual survey found that 86 percent of consumers only call one funeral home and don’t shop around.

“I think funeral homes realize that,” Reggie said.

Reggie said funeral homes in certain areas continue to creep up prices, and that is was has happened on Cape Cod.

“Apparently, consumers have accepted it,” he said.

Reggie said consumers do not see this in other industries.

“Only the funeral homes know each other’s prices,” Reggie said. “The consumers, pretty much, are unaware.”

There are more than 100 funeral homes in the Cape Cod region, and most do not list their prices on their websites.

Funeralocity.com is a free comparison website for consumers. A zip code search provides prices from funeral home and cremation service providers. The service launched earlier this year.

The site also has an Excellence Program which vets funeral homes.

“We do background checks. We see if they embrace green funerals. They take a pledge of transparency,” Reggie said. “We are trying to give consumers both price information and quality information.”

Reggie said the reception he has received from funeral homes has been mixed.

“I get people who come up and say not very nice things about me, and I get some people who say some nice things,” Reggie said.

Some funeral homes believe consumers knowing the prices will cause a race to the bottom.

Reggie said in places like Cape Cod there are comparable funeral homes in quality and services with prices that can be far apart.

“It pays to shop,” he said. “It pays to look on the internet and check them out first.”

Long Island, New York was number one on the list for most expensive funeral services. Other locations in the Top 10 include Lansing, Michigan; Tyler, Texas; and Wilmington, Delaware.