{"id":16276,"date":"2023-05-22T16:49:58","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T16:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/?p=16276"},"modified":"2023-06-27T16:48:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T16:48:11","slug":"best-states-green-burials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/best-states-green-burials\/","title":{"rendered":"2023\u2019s Best States for Green Burials"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where can you easily plan a natural burial?<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To mark Memorial Day on May 29, <a href=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/\">Lawn Love<\/a> ranked 2023&#8217;s Best States for Green Burials.<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We compared the 50 states based on four categories. We factored in access to green burial locations, funeral homes specializing in natural burials, and demand, among 18 total metrics.<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Explore green funeral options in our ranking below. To learn how we ranked the states, see our <a href=\"#methodology\">methodology<\/a>.<\/p>    <h2 id=\"in-this-article\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In this article<\/h2>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"#rankings\">State rankings + infographic<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"#top-5\">Top 5 close up<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"#key-insights\">Key insights<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"#methodology\">Behind the ranking<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"rankings\"><span id=\"state-rankings-infographic\">State rankings + infographic<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See how each state fared in our ranking:<\/p>   <div class=\"infogram-embed\" data-id=\"a23878fb-75bf-4276-8947-16a2c57d77c6\" data-type=\"interactive\" data-title=\"Ranking Table - 2023\u2019s Best States for Green Burials\"><\/div> <p><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t=\"InfogramEmbeds\",d=e.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(\"script\");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,\"infogram-async\");<\/script><\/p>    <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1765\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic.png\" alt=\"Infographic showing the Best States for Green Burials, a ranking based on access to green burial locations, funeral homes specializing in natural burials, local interest, and more\" class=\"wp-image-16300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic.png 800w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic-136x300.png 136w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic-464x1024.png 464w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic-768x1694.png 768w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic-696x1536.png 696w, https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/2023s-Best-States-for-Green-Burials-Infographic-610x1346.png 610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span id=\"docs-internal-guid-1697678f-7fff-aa79-5bd1-29c177c0ee79\" style=\"white-space: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Note: <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">For presentation purposes, not all ties may be displayed for some metrics above.<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"top-5\"><span id=\"top-5-close-up\">Top 5 close up<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out the slideshow below for highlights and lowlights on each of our top five states.<\/p>   <div style=\"min-height: 535px\" class=\"ub_image_slider swiper-container wp-block-ub-image-slider\" id=\"ub_image_slider_ebbfe3ff-f689-4645-bf7a-888d75abb574\" data-swiper-data='{\"speed\":300,\"spaceBetween\":20,\"slidesPerView\":1,\"loop\":true,\"pagination\":{\"el\": \".swiper-pagination\" , \"type\": \"bullets\", \"clickable\":true},\"navigation\": {\"nextEl\": \".swiper-button-next\", \"prevEl\": \".swiper-button-prev\"}, \"keyboard\": { \"enabled\": true }, \"effect\": \"slide\",\"simulateTouch\":false}'>             <div class=\"swiper-wrapper\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide\">                 <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/California-1.jpg\" alt=\"A palm tree frames the Hollywood Sign, which stands on top of a hill on a clear blue day.\" style=\"height: 500px;; \">                 <figcaption class=\"ub_image_slider_image_caption\"><strong>No. 1: <\/strong>California | <strong>Overall score: <\/strong>61.32<br><br><strong>Provider Access: <\/strong>1<br><strong>Burial Locations: <\/strong>1<br><strong>Financial Advantage: <\/strong>50<br><strong>Demand: <\/strong>5<br><br>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/hollywood-sign-2671089\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Edgar Colomba<\/a> | Pexels | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pexels License<\/a><\/figcaption>             <\/figure><figure class=\"swiper-slide\">                 <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/North-Carolina-LL-1.jpg\" alt=\"The North Carolina state flag waves in the wind on a clear blue day.\" style=\"height: 500px;; \">                 <figcaption class=\"ub_image_slider_image_caption\"><strong>No. 2: <\/strong>North Carolina | <strong>Overall score: <\/strong>40.75<br><br><strong>Provider Access: <\/strong>6<br><strong>Burial Locations: <\/strong>5<br><strong>Financial Advantage: <\/strong>25<br><strong>Demand: <\/strong>2<br><br>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/north-carolina-flag-on-a-pole-under-blue-sky-9407524\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mark Stebnicki<\/a> | Pexels | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pexels License<\/a><\/figcaption>             <\/figure><figure class=\"swiper-slide\">                 <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ohio-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Ohio Capitol building stands in downtown Columbus.\" style=\"height: 500px;; \">                 <figcaption class=\"ub_image_slider_image_caption\"><strong>No. 3:<\/strong> Ohio | <strong>Overall score: <\/strong>38.92<br><br><strong>Provider Access: <\/strong>4<br><strong>Burial Locations: <\/strong>3<br><strong>Financial Advantage: <\/strong>29<br><strong>Demand: <\/strong>8<br><br>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/124651729@N04\/50690949982\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Larry Syverson<\/a> | Flickr | <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption>             <\/figure><figure class=\"swiper-slide\">                 <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pennsylvania-1.jpg\" alt=\"The massive Pennsylvania State Capitol looms over a fountain and a lush park on a sunny day.\" style=\"height: 500px;; \">                 <figcaption class=\"ub_image_slider_image_caption\"><strong>No. 4: <\/strong>Pennsylvania | <strong>Overall score: <\/strong>36.80<br><br><strong>Provider Access: <\/strong>5<br><strong>Burial Locations: <\/strong>7<br><strong>Financial Advantage: <\/strong>23<br><strong>Demand: <\/strong>3<br><br>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/warrenlemay\/52441204951\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Warren LeMay<\/a> | Flickr | <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption>             <\/figure><figure class=\"swiper-slide\">                 <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Massachusetts-1.jpg\" alt=\"Boats float in the Boston Harbor as the city\u2019s skyline glistens in the background on a cloudy morning.\" style=\"height: 500px;; \">                 <figcaption class=\"ub_image_slider_image_caption\"><strong>No. 5: <\/strong>Massachusetts | <strong>Overall score: <\/strong>34.01<br><br><strong>Provider Access: <\/strong>13<br><strong>Burial Locations: <\/strong>2<br><strong>Financial Advantage: <\/strong>41<br><strong>Demand: <\/strong>16<br><br>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/ships-on-the-boston-harbor-13248624\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mohan Nannapaneni<\/a> | Pexels | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pexels License<\/a><\/figcaption>             <\/figure><\/div>             <div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div>             <div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div> <div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div>         <\/div>   <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-insights\">Key insights<\/h2>    <h3 id=\"the-gist\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The gist<\/h3>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With high <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/391547\/seven-year-stretch-elevated-environmental-concern.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">environmental concern<\/a> and limited urban <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/bisnow\/2017\/11\/03\/urban-cemeteries-running-out-of-space-as-baby-boomers-enter-twilight-years\/?sh=10897ae3579c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">burial space<\/a>, many Americans are considering more natural options for their end-of-life plans.&nbsp;<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our top-ranking states \u2014 California (No. 1), North Carolina (No. 2), and Ohio (No. 3) \u2014 offer plenty of green burial providers and locations. These states have high demand in natural burials, despite low Financial Advantage compared with other states where traditional burial and cremation are more expensive.&nbsp;<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Delaware (No. 47), Montana (No. 48), and Nebraska (No. 49) landed at the bottom of our ranking, alongside Alaska in last place. Far fewer residents are interested in eco-friendly burials and lack access to providers and green burial sites.<\/p>    <h3 id=\"standout-stats\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Standout stats<\/h3>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Golden green burials: <\/strong>With over a 20-point lead ahead of the next state, <strong>California<\/strong> finishes in first place overall, as well as in Provider Access and Burial Locations. While traditional burial options are most affordable in California, this state offers the most natural burial sites and tree burial forests. The Golden State also boasts the second-highest number of green cemeteries.<\/li> <\/ul>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Earthly legacies: <\/strong>Plan a green funeral with ease in <strong>Pennsylvania<\/strong> (No. 4), boasting the most funeral homes certified by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenburialcouncil.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Green Burial Council<\/a>, followed by <strong>Ohio<\/strong> (No. 3) and <strong>Michigan<\/strong> (No. 6). Ohio claims the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenburialcouncil.org\/conservation-burial-faq.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conservation burial<\/a> grounds \u2014 a practice that turns what would be a natural cemetery into a protected wildlife conservation area.\u00a0<\/li> <\/ul>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Contemporary cremation: <\/strong>In the U.S., cremations can generate around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/danielleseurkamp\/2023\/01\/24\/ending-in-the-green-climate-friendly-end-of-life-options\/?sh=616b0a343090#:~:text=Total%20cremations%20in%20the%20US%20produce%20somewhere%20around%20360%2C000%20metric%20tons%20of%20carbon%20dioxide%20annually\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">360,000<\/a> metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Thankfully, greener options are available in <strong>Colorado<\/strong> (No. 17) and <strong>Illinois<\/strong> (No. 12), which tie for the highest number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.us-funerals.com\/aquamation-or-resomation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aquamation<\/a> (alkaline hydrolysis) providers. This water cremation process is currently allowed in 28 states.&nbsp;<\/li> <\/ul>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Pacific Coast processions: <\/strong>Known for majestic scenery and promoting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.evergreen.edu\/magazine\/positioning-pacific-northwest-lead-sustainability\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sustainable<\/a> initiatives, the Pacific Northwest carries its eco-friendly values into end-of-life planning. <strong>Washington<\/strong> (No. 11) and <strong>Oregon<\/strong> (No. 9) both allow aquamation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.us-funerals.com\/human-composting-as-a-new-death-care-alternative-a-guide-to-nor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">body composting<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturalburialcompany.com\/vault-free-burials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vault-free<\/a> burials. Washington has the best access to body composting providers, followed by the Beaver State tied with <strong>Colorado <\/strong>(No. 17). Oregon also offers the most natural funeral service providers.&nbsp;<\/li> <\/ul>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Massive options: <\/strong>In fifth place, <strong>Massachusetts<\/strong> boasts the most green cemeteries. The Bay State also claims the highest number of hybrid burial sites, where people can choose between a natural and traditional burial.\u00a0<\/li> <\/ul>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong>Interment interests: <\/strong>Residents of <strong>South Carolina<\/strong> (No. 10) have the highest interest in a green exit, followed by <strong>North Carolina<\/strong> (No. 2) and <strong>Pennsylvania<\/strong> (No. 4). These states also have high access to green Burial Locations. Some states \u2014 such as <strong>Louisiana<\/strong> (No. 34), <strong>Maryland<\/strong> (No. 36), and <strong>Tennessee<\/strong> (No. 29) \u2014 have high interest in natural burials but unfortunately lack those options.&nbsp;<\/li> <\/ul>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"methodology\"><span id=\"behind-the-ranking\">Behind the ranking<\/span><\/h2>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to the Best States for Green Burials. We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into four categories: Provider Access, Burial Locations, Financial Advantage, and Demand. The categories, factors, and their weights are listed in the table below.<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For each of the 50 states, we then gathered data on each factor from the sources listed below the table.<\/p>    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each state to determine its rank in each factor, each category, and overall. A state\u2019s Overall Score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories. The highest Overall Score ranked \u201cBest\u201d (No. 1) and the lowest \u201cWorst\u201d (No. 50). Note: The \u201cWorst\u201d among individual factors may not be No. 50 due to ties.<\/p>   <div class=\"infogram-embed\" data-id=\"74a0b95d-0920-40f1-9eab-6c3ded324fc6\" data-type=\"interactive\" data-title=\"Methodology Table -2023&amp;#39;s Best States for Green Burials\"><\/div> <p><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t=\"InfogramEmbeds\",d=e.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(\"script\");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,\"infogram-async\");<\/script><\/p>    <h3 id=\"sources\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources<\/h3>    <p class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Better Place Forests, CNN, Eirene, Funeralocity, Google Ads, Green Burial Council, Green Matters, Natural Burial Company, and US Funerals Online<\/em><\/p>    <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"media-resources\">Media resources<\/h2>    <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/1EfizRWYucwmBx65f__OfHmutJ44eZl6g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">High-resolution image of infographic<\/a><\/li>    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1DAez0eoaXqlbpkyhL553MwV4C0eEHQeRndj6mexkXWs\/edit#gid=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">High-resolution images of states<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>    <p class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Main Photo Credit: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.istockphoto.com\/photo\/funeral-heart-sympathy-funeral-heart-near-a-tree-natural-burial-grave-in-the-forest-gm1342807999-422000042?phrase=green%20burial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">iStock<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where can you easily plan a natural burial? To mark Memorial Day on May 29, Lawn Love ranked 2023&#8217;s Best [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":16282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-studies"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/feature-image-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Sav Maive","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/sav-maive\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}