Embalmers Salary
In St. Louis, MO-IL, embalmers earn $63,130 at the median, or about $30.35 an hour. The range runs from $47K at the entry level to $77K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $66,390 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 29.4% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $63K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About embalmers
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in St. Louis
Embalmers pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $63K locally vs. $59K nationwide, a 7% difference. Rent runs $1,218/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 28.9% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for embalmers in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville/Jefferson County | $46K | $49K |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | $57K | $59K |
| Oklahoma City | $49K | $54K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level embalmers (10th percentile) start around $47K. Mid-career wages sit at $63K. Top earners bring in $77K or more, a $30K spread from bottom to top.
Embalmers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Embalmers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | $72K | +22% | 80 |
| Pennsylvania | $70K | +19% | 50 |
| North Carolina | $69K | +17% | 70 |
| Missouri | $66K | +13% | 160 |
| Virginia | $64K | +9% | 120 |
| Kansas | $63K | +7% | 120 |
| Indiana | $62K | +6% | N/A |
| South Carolina | $62K | +5% | 140 |
| Illinois | $62K | +5% | 60 |
| Rhode Island | $60K | +3% | 40 |
| Florida | $60K | +2% | 300 |
| California | $60K | +2% | 520 |
| Mississippi | $59K | +0% | 40 |
| Arkansas | $58K | -1% | 90 |
| Texas | $57K | -2% | 680 |
| Oregon | $57K | -3% | 70 |
| Colorado | $57K | -3% | 70 |
| Tennessee | $55K | -6% | 180 |
| Georgia | $55K | -6% | 50 |
| Louisiana | $55K | -7% | 150 |
| Massachusetts | $54K | -8% | 100 |
| West Virginia | $54K | -8% | 50 |
| Alabama | $53K | -10% | 90 |
| Washington | $51K | -14% | 40 |
| Kentucky | $50K | -15% | 280 |
| Oklahoma | $49K | -16% | 90 |
| New Mexico | $45K | -23% | 30 |
| Iowa | $39K | -33% | N/A |
Showing 1–10 of 28 states
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track embalmers salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
Related careers in Personal Care
Frequently asked questions
Can a embalmer afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $63K, rent takes 28.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for embalmers in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new embalmers typically earn — is $47K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,801/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 43% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is embalmer a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $63K locally vs. $59K nationally, a 7% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for embalmers?
St. Louis pays $63K median vs. the U.S. average of $59K — that’s +7%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $66K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do embalmers make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $63,130 a year, that works out to about $30 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $46,680, and experienced embalmers can clear $76,780. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $63K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,212/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 28.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a embalmers salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median embalmers salary is worth about $66,390 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do embalmers get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.