Cremation Rates Rising

California doesn't only have a high cost of living, the cost of dying is high as well. While no one can get out alive without dealing with the 11 billion dollar-a-year funeral industry, some have found ways to save some money.

"My partner and I had to cremate a friend of his and we took that way because of the pricing," Norm Hasty said.

Cremation rates continue to rise all over the country.

"Cremation is more economical," Wiefels Cremation and Funeral Services funeral director John Caranci said, and he added that it's not different in the desert.

Caranci said the cremation rate in the valley in the 70s was 10 percent, and now, it's 70 percent.

"I would say probably because of the price," Hasty said.

"Basic burial or graveside service could be in the $2,500, $3,000 range plus the cemetary," Caranci said.

Funeral costs can reach as high as $10,000. Basic cremation, on the other hand, is $1,000 to $2500. Yet price isn't what draws in everyone.

"The thought of my bones rotting six feet underground is not very appealing to me," Hasty noted.

By 2025, the Cremation Association estimates more than half of us will be cremated.

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