Funeral Directors vs Barbers
Median pay is about $21k higher for Funeral Directors. The usual entry education is associate's plus license for Funeral Directors and postsecondary plus license for Barbers.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Funeral Directors | Barbers |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $58,780, higher | $38,210 |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $48,010, higher | $31,570 |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $66,130, higher | $58,960 |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +0.7% Stable | +3.3% Growing, higher |
| Openings a year | 700 | 6,900 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Associate's plus license | Postsecondary plus license |
| Difficulty modeled | 3.2 / 5 | 2.4 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Very low | Very low |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 30th pct | 16th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Funeral Directors
- Writing
Only Barbers
- Monitoring
Both lean on speaking, active listening, critical thinking, reading comprehension, active learning.
More comparisons
Compare Funeral Directors with
Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.