10 most expensive US states to die in
Things to be aware of before buying in
New York and California aren’t just two of the most expensive places to live in the United States — they’re also two of the most expensive places to die in.
That’s according to new research from personal-finance website GOBankingRates, the National Funeral Directors Association and the National Bureau of Economic Research, which looked at the median out-of-pocket funeral costs and median end-of-life medical care for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
All figures have been adjusted for inflation.
Here are the top 10 most expenses places to die:
10. Rhode Island
Total: $25,667
Average funeral expenses: $9,269
Average end-of-life medical costs: $16,398
FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2014, file photo, visitors walk toward an entrance to The Breakers mansion in Newport, R.I. The battle over the Vanderbilt mansion, The Breakers, goes before the Rhode Island Supreme Court Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. The nonprofit …
9. New Jersey
Total: $26,893
Average funeral expenses: $9,712
Average end-of-life medical costs: $17,181
Paterson is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey.
8. Connecticut
Total: $27,452
Average funeral expenses: $9,914
Average end-of-life medical costs: $17,538
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a population of 125,109, making it the third-largest city in the state. Stamford has one of the largest concentrations of corporations in the nation. (iStock)
7. Maryland
Total: $27,881
Average funeral expenses: $10,069
Average end-of-life medical costs: $17,812
Little Italy district in Baltimore, Maryland, USA: May 5, 2018: Main street in Little Italy of Baltimore City
6. Alaska
Total: $27,924
Average funeral expenses: $10,084
Average end-of-life medical costs: $17,840
5. Massachusetts
Total: $28,289
Average funeral expenses: $10,216
Average end-of-life medical costs: $18,073
Tanner Skenderian reads a schoolbook while posing for a photograph in the yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts October 12, 2012. To match Special Report EQUALITY/MASSACHUSETTS Picture taken October 12, 2012. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UN …
4. Oregon
Total: $28,849
Average funeral expenses: $10,418
Average end-of-life medical costs: $18,430
Night City Skyline of Portland, Oregon
3. New York
Total: $29,902
Average funeral expenses: $10,799
Average end-of-life medical costs: $19,103
2. California
Total: $32,611
Average funeral expenses: $11,777
Average end-of-life medical costs: $20,834
Berkeley, California, United States - May 21, 2018: Cars drive on Shattuck Avenue in downtown Berkeley, California in the San Francisco Bay Area on a sunny day, May 21, 2018 (iStock)
1. Hawaii
Total: $41,467
Average funeral expenses: $14,975
Average end-of-life medical costs: $26,492
Skyline of Honolulu, Hawaii and the surrounding area. (iStock)
Compared to the No. 1 state on the list, Hawaii, where the average funeral expenses are $14,975 and the average end-of-life medical costs are $26,492, the national medians are a lot lower. In fact, they’re less than half, at $7,360 and $11,618, respectively.
“One of the biggest factors impacting funeral expenses and the cost of dying in general,” according to GOBankingRates, “is the state where the death certificate is issued.”
Many states don’t leave additional fees with the deceased’s family by imposing taxes, though that isn’t always the case everywhere. Some states have removed estate and inheritance taxes and others have left taxes in place but raised the exemption levels.
“Just like the cost of living, the cost of dying depends on where you reside.”
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