nor education 8 min read

By TerraCare

How Many Terramations Have Been Performed in the U.S.? (colloquially referred to as human composting)

The honest answer is that no one tracks this centrally. There is no national registry of terramation cases, no federal reporting requirement, and no industry body that publishes a running total. What is known: terramations are being performed by multiple commercial providers across more than a dozen states, and the cumulative total is likely in the thousands as of 2026. But if you’re looking for a precise figure, it doesn’t exist yet — and this article will explain why, what we do know, and what it would take for more complete data to emerge.

How many terramations have been performed in the United States?

No central registry tracks U.S. terramation cases, and no federal agency requires disposition-method reporting that distinguishes NOR. Based on reported provider capacity and years of operation since the first commercial terramations in 2021, the cumulative total is likely in the thousands as of 2026. Any specific figure cited without a named provider source is an estimate, not a reported fact.

  • No national database or federal reporting requirement tracks terramation cases separately — the U.S. death-care system is regulated at the state level with no centralized NOR count.
  • Commercial terramations began in 2021 when the first NOR facilities opened in Washington State; the cumulative total since then is likely in the thousands as of 2026.
  • Washington State providers have reported performing hundreds of terramations since 2021 — the most credible figures come directly from named providers in press materials.
  • The total will grow significantly when California becomes operational (expected 2027), adding the largest consumer market in the country.
  • Cremation contrast: approximately 1.8–2 million Americans are cremated annually; NOR's total cumulative cases since 2021 are orders of magnitude smaller.
  • Better data will emerge as state vital statistics systems are updated to code NOR as a distinct disposition method — for now, 'likely in the thousands, growing' is the honest characterization.

Why Isn’t There a National Count of Terramations?

Death care in the United States is regulated at the state level, not federally. Each state has its own licensing requirements, death registration systems, and facility oversight. No federal agency collects disposition-method data in a format that would allow a clean national count of terramation cases.

The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) publishes annual cremation and burial statistics, which have become the industry standard for tracking disposition trends. These figures are based on survey data and vital statistics reporting — not a case-by-case database. NOR is still too small and too new to show up reliably in this kind of aggregate data.

The Washington State Department of Ecology, which oversees NOR in the state where it has been practiced the longest, maintains regulatory guidance for NOR operations — but does not publish case counts publicly.

This is not unusual for an emerging industry. When aquamation (alkaline hydrolysis) was in its early years, similar data gaps existed. Over time, as the practice scales and state vital statistics systems are updated to separately code NOR as a disposition method, better data will emerge.

What Do We Know About the Largest Providers?

The established NOR providers in Washington state, the first to open commercially in 2021, have reported performing hundreds of terramations since opening. Their stated vessel capacities and years of operation support these estimates, though none have published a cumulative case count publicly.

Additional NOR providers in Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Maryland, Arizona, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, and Georgia have been operational for varying periods — some for years, others more recently. Each adds to the national total, but none publish aggregate figures.

Taken together, the cumulative total across all U.S. providers is almost certainly in the thousands as of 2026. Whether it’s 2,000 or 8,000 or more is genuinely unknown — and anyone who cites a specific figure without a named source is estimating, not reporting.

How Does This Compare to Cremation?

The scale difference is striking. Cremation surpassed 1 million annual cases in the U.S. years ago, and at today’s 63.4% national rate (NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report), approximately 1.8 to 2 million people are cremated each year in the United States.

Terramation, by comparison, is in the thousands of cumulative cases — not annually, but total, since the first commercial terramation was performed in 2021. That’s not a criticism of the practice; it’s a reflection of how new it is. Cremation itself was a tiny fraction of U.S. dispositions for decades before it became the majority choice.

Traditional burial, while declining, still accounts for a significant share of U.S. dispositions. The full disposition landscape in 2026 looks roughly like: 63.4% cremation, approximately 35% burial, and a small but growing percentage choosing alternative methods including NOR, aquamation, and green burial.

What States Have Been Doing This the Longest?

Washington State has been the only legal NOR state for the longest period, which is why its providers have likely performed the most cases to date. Colorado, Oregon, and Vermont all legalized NOR in 2021-2022, giving their providers several years of operational history as well.

States that legalized more recently — Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine (all 2024) and Georgia (2025) — have fewer cumulative cases by virtue of shorter operating windows. Their providers are newer and some may still be in early ramp-up phases.

California, New York, and New Jersey have passed NOR laws but are not yet operational as of April 2026. California is expected to become operational under AB-351 effective January 1, 2027. When California opens, it will add the largest consumer market in the country to the NOR landscape, and total U.S. case counts will grow significantly faster.

For a full picture of state-by-state legal status, see the state guides at TerraCare Partners.

What Would Need to Happen for NOR to Scale?

Several factors will determine how quickly the total case count grows:

More states legalizing. Each new legal state opens a new market. The 14 states currently legal represent a substantial population, but roughly two-thirds of Americans still live in states where NOR is not available.

Funeral home adoption. Currently, most terramations happen at standalone NOR facilities. Traditional funeral homes — the primary way most Americans access death-care services — are only beginning to offer NOR. As more funeral homes add NOR capability (through equipment programs like TerraCare Partners), the service becomes available to far more families through channels they already trust.

Consumer awareness. The majority of Americans haven’t heard of terramation. As awareness grows, so does the pool of families actively choosing it. Word of mouth, media coverage, and educational resources like this one all contribute.

Pre-planning infrastructure. When families can pre-plan and pre-pay for terramation with the same ease as cremation or burial, the decision gets easier and earlier. Pre-need frameworks for NOR are still developing in most states.

For more on how families are choosing terramation, see our articles on terramation ceremonies and personalization and how to pre-plan a terramation.

Should You Trust Any Specific Number You See Online?

Be cautious. Because no centralized database exists, any specific figure you encounter — “X,000 terramations performed” — is either an estimate, a figure from a single provider, or a projection. That doesn’t make it wrong, but it should come with a source and a date.

The most credible figures come directly from named providers in press materials or interviews. Provider-reported figures from Washington state operators are credible and verifiable against their capacity and timeline, but still single-company numbers.

This article will note when the data improves. As NOR grows and state vital statistics systems are updated to track it as a distinct disposition method, more reliable aggregate data will emerge. For now, “likely in the thousands, growing” is the most honest characterization of where the national total stands.

To understand the broader picture of where the NOR industry stands today, read The NOR Industry in 2026. For a look at how NOR has grown from one state to fourteen, see the complete guide to natural organic reduction.

How many terramations have been performed in the U.S.?

There is no centralized registry, so an exact figure isn’t publicly available. Based on reported provider capacity and years of operation, the cumulative U.S. total is likely in the thousands as of 2026. The longest-operating NOR providers have reported performing hundreds of terramations since opening in 2021.

Who tracks terramation case counts?

No federal agency currently tracks NOR cases separately from other disposition methods. State vital statistics systems regulate disposition, but NOR may not yet be coded as a distinct category in all states. Industry organizations like NFDA are the likely source of more systematic data as the practice grows.

When did commercial terramation start in the U.S.?

The first commercial terramations were performed in 2021, when the first commercial NOR providers opened in Washington State. Washington had legalized NOR in 2019, with a two-year implementation window before commercial operations could begin.

Is terramation growing?

Yes. The number of legal states has grown from 1 in 2019 to 14 in 2026. The number of operating providers has expanded beyond Washington to include Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, and Georgia. Consumer awareness and demand are rising, and several more states have bills in progress.

Learn more about terramation providers near you — contact TerraCare Partners to find out about options in your state.

Ready to explore terramation options? Contact TerraCare Partners — reach out today and we can point you toward licensed providers and answer your questions.

Sources

  1. NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report — https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  2. Washington State Department of Health — WAC 246-500 Natural Organic Reduction — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-500
  3. Washington State SB 5001 (2019) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5001&Year=2019
  4. TerraCare Partners — NOR Industry Overview — https://terracareprogram.com/blog/nor-education/nor-industry-2026-trends/
  5. Green Burial Council — Alternative Disposition — https://www.greenburialcouncil.org
  6. NFDA — Cremation Statistics Archive — https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  7. Oklahoma Legislature — HB 3660 — https://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB3660&Session=2600