Cremation rates within North Dakota, and the greater US, have been rapidly increasing over the recent decades. Funeral directors, coroners, and death investigators alike have noticed the increase; however, nobody has made a positive determination for why the increase was occurring. Using an anthropological lens, I evaluated the state of cremation with North Dakota and with the use of GIS analysis and interviews with local funeral directors, I was able to determine that there is not one specific reason for the rising cremation rates. Instead, there are multiple factors at play, one of which is cost.