Parish church of St James in the North Norfolk village of Southrepps (Image: Getty)
Funerals are well-known to be expensive but new data reveals they’re way less affordable in certain places.
The average cost of a basic funeral in the UK is around ￡4,000 but in some areas, this number skyrockets by over a thousand pounds – which can be a massive financial burden for some families as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
According to Pastor Mick Fleming, whose charity Church on The Street has revealed a list of the least affordable areas to die in, some families are "falling into serious debt" because of the price it costs to buy loved ones.
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A dug grave with green mats around it (Image: Getty)
Pastor Fleming said: "We’re living through a Cost of Living Crisis - but we’ve also got a Cost of Dying Crisis on our hands.
"If families can’t even afford food day-to-day - how are they meant to find over ￡4,000 for a funeral? It’s impossible."
So, what’s the least affordable town for a funeral?
It turns out, North Norfolk is officially the UK’s least affordable area for a funeral compared with other local authorities, according to Office for National Statistics household income data and funeral data by SunLife.
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The average basic funeral costs around ￡4,000 (Image: Getty)
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Here, the average send-off costs are ￡4,300. While this price might not seem a lot higher than the average cost of ￡4,000, based on North Norfolk's average yearly wage of ￡22,365, it is a lot less affordable than elsewhere.
The funeral costs in this region make up 19.23 per cent of its residents’ average yearly wage.
Typically, funerals in Britain cost around 14 per cent of the average yearly wage, which stands at ￡27,690.
Barking and Dagenham, London, is the UK’s second priciest place for a funeral, with a ceremony costing 18.95 percent of residents’ average wage.
This is followed by the Isle of Wight, which has funeral costs that are 18.39 percent of residents’ average wage.
Here’s the full list of least affordable places to have a funeral:
North Norfolk
Barking and Dagenham
Isle of Wight UA
Enfield
Gwynedd
Blackpool
Brent
Arun
Hastings
Denbighshire
Sutton
Newham
Merton
Redbridge
Nottingham
Great Yarmouth
Adur
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
Tendring
East Suffolk
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On a regional level, Wales and London are the least affordable UK regions for a funeral. In London, the average cost of a funeral - ￡5,283 - consumes 15.73 percent of a resident’s average yearly wage, compared to the national average of 14.71 percent.
And in Wales, a funeral costs 15.28 percent of a resident’s average yearly wage, compared to the UK average.
Commenting on the cost of funerals, Pastor Mick said: "I’ve seen people getting into high-interest debt over funerals, because their credit rating was already low due to poverty and having to borrow money to make ends meet, and they’ve now had to go to less reputable lenders to pay for a funeral - it’s a vicious cycle. I’ve seen families splitting apart and falling out because one person has paid and the others just can’t afford to pay."
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On a regional level, Wales and London are the least affordable UK regions for a funeral. In London, the average cost of a funeral - ￡5,283 - consumes 15.73 percent of a resident’s average yearly wage, compared to the national average of 14.71 percent.
And in Wales, a funeral costs 15.28 percent of a resident’s average yearly wage, compared to the UK average.
Commenting on the cost of funerals, Pastor Mick said: "I’ve seen people getting into high-interest debt over funerals, because their credit rating was already low due to poverty and having to borrow money to make ends meet, and they’ve now had to go to less reputable lenders to pay for a funeral - it’s a vicious cycle. I’ve seen families splitting apart and falling out because one person has paid and the others just can’t afford to pay."
Pastor Mick says he has seen people getting into debt over funerals (Image: Getty)
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"If you can’t afford a funeral for your loved one, you’re left with some pretty inhumane options.
"People turn around and say there’s DWP funeral grants, but these are actually very rare, and few qualify.
"Even if you get one, it can take 3-6 months to come in. A hospital won’t keep a body beyond 21 days, and undertakers will refuse to pick up the body to perform a burial or cremation without half their fee upfront, which is, in total, about ￡800. If you don’t have that money and you don’t pick up the body in time, the hospital will just cremate it and scatter it somewhere that could be thirty or forty miles away from you."
"Sometimes, you can get what used to be called a ‘pauper’s funeral’ (a ‘public health’ funeral), where the council funds the ceremony, but these are also hard to come by. And you don’t get a service or to choose the music - they take the body and burn it, and you can sit there in the crematorium for fifteen minutes. That’s it. Those are your options.
"I’m seeing more and more young people and middle-aged people dying in the Cost of Living Crisis due to suicide or other mental-health related reasons - it’s increasing on a massive scale. And their parents, who are pensioners, don’t qualify for funeral grants, and so can’t afford a ceremony for their children."
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"If you can’t afford a funeral for your loved one, you’re left with some pretty inhumane options.
"People turn around and say there’s DWP funeral grants, but these are actually very rare, and few qualify.
"Even if you get one, it can take 3-6 months to come in. A hospital won’t keep a body beyond 21 days, and undertakers will refuse to pick up the body to perform a burial or cremation without half their fee upfront, which is, in total, about ￡800. If you don’t have that money and you don’t pick up the body in time, the hospital will just cremate it and scatter it somewhere that could be thirty or forty miles away from you."
"Sometimes, you can get what used to be called a ‘pauper’s funeral’ (a ‘public health’ funeral), where the council funds the ceremony, but these are also hard to come by. And you don’t get a service or to choose the music - they take the body and burn it, and you can sit there in the crematorium for fifteen minutes. That’s it. Those are your options.
"I’m seeing more and more young people and middle-aged people dying in the Cost of Living Crisis due to suicide or other mental-health related reasons - it’s increasing on a massive scale. And their parents, who are pensioners, don’t qualify for funeral grants, and so can’t afford a ceremony for their children."
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