Operate crematory equipment to reduce human or animal remains to bone fragments in accordance with state and local regulations. Duties may include preparing the body for cremation and performing general maintenance on crematory equipment. May use traditional flame-based cremation, calcination, or alkaline hydrolysis.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
State licensing. Crematory Operators is licensed or registered in 12 of 57 states and territories, as reported by each state to CareerOneStop. A license often applies only to certain roles within a career, and records were last updated between 2010 and 2024, so confirm requirements with the state licensing board.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most crematory operators are Death Care Services (93% of the jobs counted, median pay $44,100), Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (5% of the jobs counted, median pay $37,000), Other Personal Services (3% of the jobs counted, median pay $37,220) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Death Care Services ($44,100). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.
Union membership. In the broad group "Personal care and service", which includes this career, 4.0% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $907 for union members and $750 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to crematory operators.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Service", which includes this career, 52% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 51% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 70% had paid sick leave, 60% paid vacation and 59% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to crematory operators, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $27.17 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Service" in June 2026 ($19.59 in wages and salaries and $7.58 in benefits, 27.9% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).
Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to crematory operators in the work done and the skills used: Funeral Attendants, Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers, Funeral Home Managers, Embalmers, Recycling and Reclamation Workers, Coroners, Hazardous Materials Removal Workers, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Compare crematory operators with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →
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