Will The USA Run Out Of Space To Bury People Before You Die?

A Thought Experiment.

Cemeteries sit alone in country fields or in the shade of skyscrapers. They dot the countryside and cityscapes from one town to the next, marked and unmarked worldwide.

Washington Square Park in New York City has more than 20,000 people buried under it alone; in fact, with very few of the public that walks above having any idea what has kept any development of the park at bay.

Which brings up the question, are we going to run out of space to bury people? Will all of our precious real estate soon to be gobbled up by cemeteries, or developed over and forgotten?

As the country grows more populated, will caskets, burial vaults, monuments, and urns filled with our loved ones become a burden? Sure we go to the cemetery to bury our dead, to mourn, to grieve, to spend time with those that were lost, and this serves an essential purpose, but how much space are we giving up for that opportunity when other more space-conscious options exist? Do cemeteries take up that much space? Will we eventually run out of room to bury people?

Let’s start by breaking down the question. According to the population clock at census.gov, the population of the World currently stands at roughly 7,558,464,500 people and growing.