How to Choose a Cemetery
Families often choose a cemetery quickly, sometimes the same week as the funeral. The choice lasts much longer than the service does. This page covers what to compare, and the questions that are hard to answer later.
Compare location, who runs the cemetery, what kinds of space it offers, its rules, and its full written cost. In Salt Lake County, many cemeteries are run by cities, and those often charge non-residents more.
City cemeteries and private cemeteries
Salt Lake County has both. Salt Lake City, West Jordan, and Riverton each run a city cemetery, managed by a sexton’s office or city department, with fees set by the city. Private cemeteries are often owned together with a funeral home.
- What you buy
- In a Utah city cemetery, you buy the right to be buried there, not the land. See cemetery property.
- Residency
- City cemeteries usually charge residents less. Ask what counts as residency and what proof is needed.
- Care of the grounds
- Private cemeteries that promise care must keep an endowment care fund under Utah law. City, church, and fraternal cemeteries are exempt from that law.
What to compare
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where is it? | Family members may visit for decades. Think about who will visit, and how often. |
| What kinds of space are available? | Graves, double-depth graves, cremation plots, niches, or crypts. Not every cemetery offers all of them. |
| Is there room next to them? | Families who want to be buried together should ask about adjoining spaces now. |
| What are the rules? | Rules on outer burial containers, marker size and type, decorations, and which urns are allowed. |
| What is the full cost? | The space, opening and closing, required items, and care. See how cemetery costs work. |
| What is the schedule? | Weekend and late-day burials often cost more, and some days may not be available. |
An example: Salt Lake City Cemetery
Salt Lake City Cemetery is run by the city. Its published fee schedule charges residents and non-residents different amounts for opening and closing and for perpetual care. It lists spaces for cremated remains. The city has no plots left to sell, so families buy them from current owners, who sell them privately. City ordinance sets marker rules: upright headstones can be no more than 3 feet tall, and fences around graves aren’t allowed.
This is one example, not a recommendation. Other cemeteries have their own rules and fees.
Rules to ask about before you buy
- Is an outer burial container required, and must it be bought from the cemetery or approved by it? See burial vaults.
- What markers are allowed: flat only, or upright? What sizes and materials? See markers and headstones.
- For a niche: which urns fit, and must the urn be approved? See niches and columbariums.
- What decorations, flowers, or objects are allowed on the grave, and when are they removed?
- Can the space be transferred or sold back later?
Faith and family traditions
Some families want a cemetery with a religious section, a family plot, or rules that match their tradition, such as burial without a vault. Ask the cemetery directly. See faith and cultural considerations.
In Salt Lake County, Khadeeja Cemetery is a Muslim cemetery. The Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake (ISGSL) Cemetery Committee asks families to contact it promptly, before finalizing funeral or burial arrangements. Contact persons and phone numbers can change, so see the cemetery’s official page, utahmuslims.com/cemetery, for current contacts. Plot availability, advance reservations, adjoining spaces, and other burial arrangements depend on each cemetery’s current policies. This is one example, not a recommendation; other religious and community cemeteries have their own contacts and rules.
“Can you give me your rules and your complete written cost for what we want, before we decide?”
Before you choose
- Visit, or ask for a map of the available spaces.
- Ask for the cemetery’s written rules.
- Ask for resident and non-resident prices, if it’s a city cemetery.
- Ask about space for other family members.
- Get the full cost in writing.
Ready to see how these choices apply to your situation?
Your Wayfinder Plan can help organize the options you’re considering and give you a clearer picture of what to ask and compare.
Build My Wayfinder Plan- Salt Lake City Cemetery fees, July 2026–June 2027; headstone and fence rules: Salt Lake City Code 15.24.
- West Jordan fee schedule; Riverton City Cemetery.
- Khadeeja Cemetery: Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake (ISGSL), Cemetery Committee; reviewed and approved by ISGSL (Sr. Alia Rauf, Cemetery Committee Chair) by email on October 7, 2026; utahmuslims.com/cemetery. ISGSL’s review applies only to the Muslim funeral and Khadeeja Cemetery information it reviewed. It does not imply ISGSL’s endorsement of Wayfinder, its services, or information about other faiths or providers.
- Burial rights in city cemeteries: Utah Code 8-5-7. Endowment care and exemptions: Utah Code Title 8, Chapter 4.
Examples are individual cemeteries, not recommendations. This page is general information, not legal advice.