1.8 Million Graves PER STATE Additional Should Exist – Where Are They?
Land required for 1.8 million burials per state
Inputs used (stated explicitly)
- Burials to place: 1,800,000
- Conversions:
- 1 acre = 43,560 ft²
- 1 sq mi = 640 acres
- Two area models:
- Plot-footprint only (minimum): use 24 ft² per grave (≈ 3 ft × 8 ft). The American Planning Association report describes a single grave as ~20–25 ft² and gives 2.5–3 ft × 8 ft as typical. [1] (VA also references 3×8 as a permitted gravesite size in some sections.) [2]
- Gross cemetery land (includes internal roads/spacing/etc.): use 800 / 1,000 / 1,200 graves per acre as planning densities. [1][3]
A) Plot-footprint only (minimum land)
- Total square feet
- 1,800,000 graves × 24 ft²/grave
= 43,200,000 ft²
- Convert ft² → acres
- 43,200,000 ÷ 43,560
= 991.7355 acres
- Convert acres → square miles
- 991.7355 ÷ 640
= 1.5496 sq mi
Result (plot-only minimum): about 991.7 acres or 1.55 sq mi.
B) Gross cemetery land (planning densities)
Formula:
- acres = graves ÷ (graves per acre)
- sq mi = acres ÷ 640
| Planning density (graves/acre) | Acres needed | Square miles needed |
|---|---|---|
| 800 [3] | 1,800,000 ÷ 800 = 2,250 acres | 2,250 ÷ 640 = 3.5156 sq mi |
| 1,000 [1][3] | 1,800,000 ÷ 1,000 = 1,800 acres | 1,800 ÷ 640 = 2.8125 sq mi |
| 1,200 [3] | 1,800,000 ÷ 1,200 = 1,500 acres | 1,500 ÷ 640 = 2.3438 sq mi |
Result (gross cemetery land): about 2.34–3.52 sq mi for 1.8 million burials (depending on density). [1][3]
Percent of state land area (selected smaller/dense states)
Percent formula:
- percent of state land = (cemetery sq mi ÷ state land sq mi) × 100
State land areas (sq mi) are from the U.S. Census Bureau state land-area table (2010 boundaries). [4]
| State land area (sq mi) [4] | % at 800/acre (3.5156 sq mi) | % at 1,000/acre (2.8125 sq mi) | % at 1,200/acre (2.3438 sq mi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island (1,033.81) | 0.3401% | 0.2721% | 0.2267% |
| Delaware (1,948.54) | 0.1804% | 0.1443% | 0.1203% |
| Connecticut (4,842.36) | 0.0726% | 0.0581% | 0.0484% |
| New Jersey (7,354.22) | 0.0478% | 0.0382% | 0.0319% |
| Massachusetts (7,800.06) | 0.0451% | 0.0361% | 0.0300% |
| Maryland (9,707.24) | 0.0362% | 0.0290% | 0.0241% |
What these calculations imply (directly from the numbers)
Given the assumptions above, placing 1.8 million burials in one state corresponds to:
- Minimum footprint: ~1.55 sq mi (plots only) [1][2]
- Typical planning footprint: ~2.34–3.52 sq mi (gross cemetery land) [1][3]
That scale corresponds to well under 1% of land area even in small states in the table above. [4]
Endnotes
[1] Cemeteries in the City Plan (PAS Report 16) — grave area (~20–25 ft²) and ~1,000 burials/acre planning statement: https://www.planning.org/pas/reports/report16.htm
[2] VA National Cemetery Administration — cemetery components / burial areas (permitted gravesite sizes including 3×8 in some sections): https://www.cem.va.gov/grants/burial_areas.asp
[3] Planning for Cemeteries (PDF) — rule-of-thumb 800–1,200 gravesites per acre (and 1,000 as a common assumption): https://plannersweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/230.pdf
[4] U.S. Census Bureau — state land-area measurements table (2010 boundaries): https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html
The creepy outcome of this delving is that 61% of deaths presently result in cremation.
