dying at the cemetary

May 9, 2011 10:24 AM

How many people die while visiting a cemetery each year? In the US. Of any causes. Are there any statistics for this kind of thing?
posted by GernBlandston to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

I'd guess that most of the people who actually die in cemeteries are homeless, as most people other than they and caretakers spend no more than an hour or two a year--at best--in them. But most cemeteries are private property, so vagrants are generally "encouraged" to leave the premises under penalty of trespass.

But no, there aren't going to be readily available statistics on this sort of thing. Location of death isn't generally considered to be of any epidemiological interest.

So basically "Almost none, but you won't find numbers."
posted by valkyryn at 10:43 AM on May 9, 2011

Or, rather "Location of death other than 'hospital' and 'home'." Which is where most people die.
posted by valkyryn at 10:44 AM on May 9, 2011

Why not just call as many cemeteries as you can and ask? Come up with your own statistic.

Here is a list of US cemetaries. The yellow pages might help, too.

(It seems unlikely that there'd be statistics out there for this. Cemeteries are about as diverse in their structuring as any other kind of business - some are owned by big corporations, some are practically mom 'n' pop operations, some are operated by churches, some are owned by cities or towns, etc. Because of this diversity, I have a hard time imagining them all putting their heads together and coming up with a statistic like this, one that doesn't have much business utility, on a national scale. I doubt that grocers keep track of how many people die in their stores each year either. Perhaps some funeral director's agency is keeping track of all sorts of death locations? Still, I can't imagine what they'd use such a stat for, so I'd be surprised if it were out there).
posted by bubukaba at 10:44 AM on May 9, 2011