By DON FENLEY

 The Tri-Cities region has long marketed itself on affordability – cheaper housing, lower taxes, a lower cost of living than the national average. That comparative value extends all the way to the end of life. But not by much.

According to data from Funeralocity and an analysis by the Washington Post, the average total cost of dying in the Tri-Cities comes in at $182,653. That is roughly $12,848 below the national average of $195,501, a discount of about 6.6%. The figure includes funeral expenses, medical costs, and other end-of-life spending.

The savings narrow considerably when examining funeral costs alone. A full-service burial in the Tri-Cities averages $8,157, compared with $8,594 nationally. A full-service cremation runs $5,997 locally versus $6,251 across the country.

A Region Growing Older, Faster

What makes those figures particularly consequential for the Tri-Cities is who lives here  and how quickly the population is aging.

Roughly 26.6% of the region’s residents are 62 or older, a share that exceeds the national figure of about 21.8%. That translates to approximately 160,478 older adults in a metro area. This does not include Tri-Cities residents from Greeneville or Johnson counties.

Another way to look at the again population is an average of 22 people turn 70 every single day in the region.

The numbers grow more pronounced further up the age ladder. Nearly 10% of the population (some 58,576 residents) are 75 or older. About 15 people in the Tri-Cities reach age 80 every day, on average.

The result is a region with a high death rate. In 2024,  9,501 people died in the Tri-Cities, an average of 26 deaths per day.

A Cost Comparison

Sources: Funeralocity (January 2025); Washington Post analysis

The Compounding Cost of an Aging Population

The Funeralocity figures are derived by weighting the average cost of full-service burials and cremations by the share of families choosing each option.

For the Tri-Cities, the aggregate effect is substantial. Multiplied across 9,501 deaths per year, the region’s families collectively spend an estimated $1.74 billion annually on end-of-life costs.

The demographic trajectory makes that growth likely. As the large cohort of residents now in their late 60s and early 70s ages, the region’s already-elevated death rate is expected to climb.

METHODOLOGY

Funeral cost averages for January 2025 are from Funeralocity and are weighted by the share of families choosing full-service burial versus cremation to calculate a blended regional and national average. Total end-of-life cost figures include medical, legal, and related expenses as reported by The Washington Post. Population and age data are drawn from the most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Annual death figures are based on 2024 regional mortality data.

This report is a combination of AI and human analysis.

Categories: DEMOGRPHICS