Best degree programs for Crematory Operators, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 9 schools train Crematory Operators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $43,650 median wage, 2,970 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 9 schools train crematory operators, graduating 76 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Mortuary Science and Embalming/Embalmer. The job pays a median of $43,650 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About crematory operators
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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 12.0303 | 51 | 67.1% | 6 | $45,532 | $22,244 |
| 2 | CIP 12.0399 | 25 | 32.9% | 3 | $45,532 | $22,244 |
Top 9 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What crematory operators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinoislimited | $41,740 | 190 | 1.61× | 2 | 12 |
| Massachusettslimited | $56,050 | 30 | 0.47× | 1 | 3 |
| Ohiolimited | $43,530 | 60 | 0.60× | 2 | 2 |
| Michiganlimited | $40,970 | 130 | 1.57× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Clean the crematorium, including tables, floors, and equipment.
- Document divided remains to ensure parts are not misplaced.
- Embalm, dress, or otherwise prepare the deceased for viewing.
- Explain the cremation process to family or friends of the deceased.
- Offer counsel and comfort to bereaved families or friends.
- Pick up and handle human or pet remains in a respectful manner.
- Place corpses into crematory machines to reduce remains to bone fragments using flame, heat, or alkaline hydrolysis.
- Pulverize remaining bone fragments into smaller pieces, using specialized equipment, such as a cremulator or grinder.
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Crematory Operator
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Crematory Operators2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 12.0303Mortuary Science and Embalming/Embalmer
- 12.0399Funeral Service and Mortuary Science, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Crematory Operator?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Mortuary Science and Embalming/Embalmer, which awarded 51 degrees in 2024-25, 67.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Crematory Operator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Funeral Service and Mortuary Science. Together they graduate about 76 people a year.
How much do crematory operators earn?+
The median is $43,650 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $33,270 at the 10th percentile to $62,460 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for crematory operators growing?+
BLS projects a +3.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
9 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Short-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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