Headstones and Grave Markers: What They Cost

In Quiring Monuments' published 2024 ranges, a basic flat granite grave marker with standard engraving runs about $200 to $600.^[9] Rock of Ages puts an upright granite monument at $2,500 to $6,000 on average.^[6] On top of the stone itself, the cemetery charges to pour a concrete foundation and set the marker, priced per square foot or per square inch of concrete: $150 to $400 flat for a marker in Portland, Maine,^[15] and $125 to $200 per square foot in Quincy, Massachusetts.^[13]

The funeral home's quote leaves the marker out. The National Funeral Directors Association's most recent published price study, from 2023, puts the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300, and states plainly that the figure "does not take into account interment in a cemetery, monument or grave marker costs, or cash-advance charges."^[5] The headstone is a separate purchase from a separate seller, and so is the concrete under it.

Three things set the price: the type of marker, the stone or metal you pick, and the cemetery's rules. The third one comes first, because a cemetery that only allows flush markers has already made most of the decision for you.

Published retail ranges from monument makers, by style:

• Flat marker (also called flush or grass marker). Sits level with the turf. Quiring Monuments' 2024 price guide puts a basic granite flat marker at $200 to $600 with standard engraving, $600 to $1,200 with more inscription or simple artwork, and up to $2,000 for premium colors and elaborate designs.^[9] Rome Monument groups its flat markers at $300 to $1,200 basic, $1,200 to $2,200 popular, and $2,200 to $8,000 premium.^[7] Rock of Ages, on a page that carries no publication date, puts flat markers at $1,000 to $2,000 on average.^[6]
• Bevel marker. Sits about 6 to 12 inches off the ground. Rock of Ages: $1,500 to $2,000 on average.^[6]
• Slant marker with a base. Looks like a small upright with an angled face. Rock of Ages: $2,000 to $4,000 on average.^[6]
• Upright monument. The traditional vertical headstone. Rock of Ages: $2,500 to $6,000 on average.^[6] Rome Monument shows $700 to $1,200 basic, $1,200 to $4,000 popular, and $4,000 to $30,000 premium.^[7]
• Bronze on granite. A standard single is a 24 by 12 inch bronze plaque on a 28 by 16 inch granite base, typically $1,665 to $3,000 depending on granite color, emblems, and whether it includes a flower vase.^[8] Quiring's 2024 guide puts a basic bronze marker around $600, mid-range at $1,000 to $2,500, and premium above $3,000.^[9]

One dealer's real numbers, from Rock of Ages: Weaver Memorials in New Holland, Pennsylvania, in the Lancaster area, sells an average upright at $4,200, a simple marker at about $1,200, and a top-tier memorial at $10,000.^[6] Rome Monument's own read on the national market is that most people don't spend more than $5,000 to $10,000 on a cemetery monument.^[7]

Color moves the price more than most people expect. Gray granite is the cheapest and the most common. Rock of Ages says to expect a 50 percent difference in price between Blue Gray and Starlight Black granite.^[6]

The installed price is the stone plus the concrete under it. Cemeteries generally require a poured concrete foundation under the marker, and they charge for the concrete and for setting the stone. Four published schedules, to show the shape of it:

• Quincy, Massachusetts. Foundations are $200 per square foot for an upright monument and $125 per square foot for a flush marker.^[13]
• Portland, Maine. Foundations are $1.85 per square inch of concrete. Setting is bundled into flat fees: $250 for a single marker, $400 for a double, $150 for a government marker. Schedule updated July 8, 2026.^[15]
• Provo, Utah. A headstone maintenance and inspection fee is due from the monument company at installation: $100 for a flush stone, $200 for an upright. It's waived for military markers ordered from the VA.^[14]
• Beloit, Wisconsin. Installation by a private contractor requires a written permit and payment of a recording fee before the marker is placed.^[16]

Some states cap what a cemetery can charge for this. Iowa's Cemetery Act lets a cemetery charge a reasonable service charge for allowing installation of a memorial that was both bought from and installed by someone other than the cemetery, but the charge has to be based on the cemetery's actual labor cost for the employees who inspect installations.

General administrative and overhead costs are excluded by statute.^[12] Iowa also lets a cemetery require a perpetual care contribution from the buyer of a memorial, as long as it's charged uniformly on every memorial installed there.^[12] Those are Iowa's rules. Other states write their own.

Ask for the foundation quote in writing before you order the stone, because the foundation is priced off the marker's dimensions. A bigger base means more concrete means a bigger bill.

Cemeteries have broad authority here. Iowa's statute lets a cemetery regulate "the uniformity, class, and kind of memorials and memorialization" and even prohibit memorials in any portion of the cemetery.^[12] That's typical, and it means the catalog you're shopping from is smaller than the catalog the dealer shows you.

Beloit, Wisconsin publishes its rules, and they're a good example of how specific this gets:^[16]

• Beloit counts any stone more than 12 inches thick as a monument rather than a marker, and the rules differ for each.^[16]
• No single marker more than 24 inches or less than 8 inches wide, and it must be one-piece construction.
• All grave markers must be level with the ground.
• Markers at Eastlawn Cemetery must not exceed 6 inches in height.
• Marble monuments, markers, and slabs aren't allowed at Eastlawn, except veterans' markers furnished by the government.
• A monument requires a minimum of 4 lots, and no monument can stand higher than 5 feet above ground.
• Foundations extend down a minimum of 36 inches, 48 inches where the weight requires it.
• Section 11 at Eastlawn is a bronze-only section, and the marker must be set flush with the turf.

The constraint gets priced into the plot too. Provo City Cemetery sells burial rights at $1,400 for a plot that takes a flush headstone only and $1,900 for a plot that's upright-capable.^[14] You're paying $500 for permission to stand a stone up.

Iowa puts part of the burden on the seller: a person selling a memorial has to review the cemetery's rules before ordering or manufacturing it, so the marker will actually comply.^[12] Get the cemetery's written specifications yourself anyway. In Iowa a cemetery has to provide them on request, without charge, to the owner of the space, next of kin, or their agent.^[12]

Longer than families expect. Quiring Monuments puts the full process at 6 to 12 weeks on average, with simple designs done in about a month.^[10] Milano Monuments says a personalized headstone can take four to 12 months.^[11] Both are manufacturers describing their own work.

Where the time goes:

• Design and proof. The artist can take up to three weeks to finalize the first proof, depending on order volume and complexity. Each revision adds days.^[10]
• Getting the stone. Standard sizes and colors may be in stock. Custom cuts and colors get specially ordered, and granite can take 3 to 8 months to arrive from the supplier.^[10]
• Cemetery approval. The design goes to the cemetery for sign-off, which takes a few days to a few weeks.^[10]
• Delivery. Deliveries can take 2 to 4 weeks after the memorial is finished and paid for in full.^[11]
• Weather. Snow and frozen ground shut installations down for a few months in winter.^[10] Beloit only permits marker and monument installation from May through October, and says it will attempt to install within one month of delivery and payment, with no requests honored for less than a month.^[16]

For a government marker going into a private cemetery, the VA's own guidance is to call its Applicant Assistance Unit at 1-800-697-6947 if more than 30 days have passed since the claim was submitted, and to contact whoever is accepting delivery if more than 60 days have passed and the grave still isn't marked.^[1]

A temporary marker holds the spot in the meantime. Milano Monuments says providers often wait for warmer weather in winter, and that a temporary wooden cross can be placed until the stone is set.^[11] Ask your funeral home or cemetery what they can put out.

The person who holds the burial rights, or someone that person authorizes. Iowa states it directly: a cemetery is entitled to determine whether the person requesting installation is authorized to do so, based on its own records, and the owner of the interment space or the owner's agent may authorize a memorial dealer or independent third party to do the work.^[12]

Beloit says only markers authorized by the city may be permanently placed on a gravesite, and in its bronze-only section at Eastlawn the grave space owner, or an authorized person acting for the owner, has to secure written approval of design, size, and lettering style from the cemetery office.^[16]

This matters when the deed holder isn't the closest relative. A plot bought decades ago by a grandparent may still be in that person's name, or split among heirs. Find out who holds the interment rights before you pay a deposit on a stone.

Government markers have their own list. Under 38 CFR 38.600(a)(1), the people who may apply for a burial headstone or marker are: a family member of the decedent, a personal representative, a representative of a Congressionally chartered veterans service organization, an employee of a state or local government whose official responsibilities include serving veterans, anyone responsible under state or local law for the disposition of unclaimed remains or the decedent's interment, or any individual at all if the veteran's service ended before April 6, 1917.^[3]

For a memorial headstone or marker, the one carrying an "IN MEMORY OF" inscription, the applicant has to be a family member, under 38 CFR 38.600(a)(2).^[3]

Cemeteries sell markers. So do independent monument dealers, and so do online sellers. The prices are different, and the cemetery has an obvious interest in you not shopping around.

Iowa law limits how far that interest can go. A cemetery there can't adopt or enforce any rule prohibiting installation of a memorial by a memorial dealer or independent third party, unless the rule applies to all memorials from whatever source and is enforced uniformly.^[12] The dealer has to give the cemetery at least seven business days' written notice before installing, unless the cemetery accepts less, naming the purchaser and describing the color, type, size, material, and inscription.^[12]

The cemetery may require proof of workers' compensation and liability insurance, and proof of $1 million or more in liability coverage bars the cemetery from also demanding a performance bond.^[12] Beloit requires all contractors doing marker and monument work to be pre-approved by the city and to carry liability insurance on file.^[16]

Don't assume the federal price-list protections apply here. The FTC Funeral Rule covers a "funeral provider," defined as someone who sells or offers both funeral goods and funeral services, and the FTC's own compliance guide says "you are not covered by the Rule if you sell only funeral goods, such as caskets, but not services relating to the disposition of remains."^[17]

A monument dealer, or a cemetery with no funeral services, generally sits outside it. Ask for an itemized written price anyway, and get the cemetery's foundation and setting fee in writing at the same time so you're comparing the installed total.

The VA tells families to ask the cemetery directly whether it requires a special marker base to be purchased before ordering a free government marker, and whether there's an additional cost for placement, setting, or care of a free government marker that's higher than for a privately purchased one.^[4] That's the question that catches the fee.

The VA furnishes, on request and at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the unmarked grave of any deceased eligible veteran, in any cemetery in the world, regardless of date of death.^[1] That includes private cemeteries.

If the grave is already marked with a privately purchased headstone, two options exist and they're mutually exclusive. A government headstone or marker may be provided for eligible veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990. A government medallion, affixed to the private stone, may be provided for eligible veterans who served on or after April 6, 1917.^[1] Eligible veterans get one or the other, not both.^[2]

What's available. Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze, and upright headstones in granite and marble. Bronze niche markers mark columbarium niches, where cremated remains are kept.^[1] Sizes: upright granite and marble are 42 by 13 by 4 inches at roughly 230 pounds; flat granite and marble are 24 by 12 by 4 inches at roughly 130 pounds; flat bronze is 24 by 12 inches with a 3/4 inch rise at roughly 18 pounds; the bronze niche marker is 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.^[2]

Medallions come in small, medium, and large bronze, plus Medal of Honor versions in medium and large.^[2] The style you choose has to be permitted by the officials in charge of the private cemetery.^[1]

What the family still pays at a private cemetery. The VA's language is exact: "There is no charge for the headstone or marker itself, however arrangements for placing it in a private cemetery are the applicant's responsibility and all setting fees are at private expense."^[1] Specifically:

• The foundation and setting. Portland, Maine charges $150 for a government marker including setting.^[15] Quincy, Massachusetts sets a veteran's granite marker at no charge and charges $50 to set a bronze one.^[13] Provo waives its inspection fee for military markers ordered from the VA.^[14] Every cemetery is different, which is why you ask first.
• The base under a bronze marker. The VA supplies anchor bolts, nuts, and washers for fastening a flat bronze marker to a base, and states that "the government does not furnish a base."^[2] Beloit requires a veteran's family choosing bronze to purchase a granite blank to mount it on, in every section except the dedicated bronze section.^[16]
• Everything else the cemetery charges. The plot and the vault or grave liner are separate,^[4] and so are opening and closing and perpetual care: Provo charges $750 to open and close an adult grave,^[14] and Quincy charges $1,000 per lot for perpetual care.^[13]

National, state, and military cemeteries work differently. Cemetery staff at national, military post, and military base cemeteries set the headstone or marker at no cost to the applicant, and the marker is ordered by cemetery officials from inscription information the next of kin provides. Some state veterans cemeteries may charge a nominal setting fee.^[1]

Spouses and dependents. Only an eligible veteran can receive a government-furnished headstone, marker, or medallion for placement in a private cemetery. Spouses and dependent children aren't eligible there. They are eligible in a national, state veterans, or military post or base cemetery.^[4][1]

How to apply. VA Form 40-1330 for a headstone or marker, VA Form 40-1330M for a medallion. Submit the veteran's military discharge documents and death certificate to speed processing, and send copies rather than originals, which aren't returned.^[3] Families planning ahead can complete the form in advance and store it with the discharge papers.^[4]

One rule that surprises people: after the National Cemetery Administration inscribes a headstone or marker, it doesn't authorize any other party to add inscriptions or emblems, and there's no authority to reserve space for future inscriptions by private or local contractors.^[3] Decide the full inscription before you file.

Ask the cemetery, in this order, and get the answers in writing. Several of these come straight from the VA's own list for families buying in private cemeteries.^[4]

• Does this section allow upright monuments, or flush markers only?
• What are the maximum and minimum dimensions, and are marble or bronze restricted here?
• What does the foundation cost, and how is it calculated: per square foot, per square inch, or flat?
• What's the setting or installation fee, and is it different if I buy the marker somewhere else?
• Is there a permit, recording, inspection, or perpetual care fee on top?
• If I'm ordering a government marker for a veteran, do you require a special base to be purchased first, and is the placement or setting charge higher than it would be for a private marker?
• Who has to approve the design, and how long does approval take?
• What months do you allow installation?
• Is there a deadline for marking the grave? Beloit, for one, requires a marker within one year of burial.^[16]

Five things, in rough order of how much they move the number:

• Pick a flat marker over an upright. The gap between a basic flat granite marker at $200 to $600^[9] and an upright at $2,500 to $6,000^[6] is the biggest single difference you can make to the price. Check the plot first: some plots only allow flush markers, and some cost more precisely because they allow uprights.^[14]
• Pick gray granite. Gray is the most popular and the least expensive, and the spread between Blue Gray and Starlight Black runs about 50 percent.^[6]
• Keep the inscription basic. Name, birth, and death dates are usually in the base price. Extra words, etched images, symbols, flower vases, and photo frames each carry a charge.^[9] Adding an inscription later means paying engraving again.^[9]
• Price the dealer against the cemetery. Then add each one's foundation and setting fee and compare the installed totals.
• If the person was a veteran, order the government marker. The stone is free. You're only paying the setting and, for bronze, the base.^[1][2]

There's no rule that says you have to buy the marker in the first month, and the 6 to 12 week manufacturing timeline means the stone wouldn't be in the ground any sooner anyway.^[10] Check whether your cemetery sets its own deadline, then take the time to compare.^[16]