Colma: An American Cemetery Town That Lives Off the Dead (10 photos)
There are cities that exist entirely on tourism. The city of Colma, located near San Francisco, California, is not one of them. It thrives on the dead, attracting tourists from other states and countries. Colma is a cemetery town, whose population is primarily employed in maintaining the necropolis. 
In the vastness of San Francisco, it's hard to find a cemetery. There are only two in the metropolis. One is dedicated to military veterans, and the other belongs to the Dolores Christian Mission. The townspeople take their dead to the neighboring town of Colma and bury them there. The stream of hearses never dries up, but locals don't mind. 
In Kolma, it's not customary to call it a "cemetery"—locals call the numerous cemeteries "parks." People play there with their children, have picnics, and stroll with their loved ones. These parks are clean and beautiful, and only the tombstones and monuments serve as reminders that they are, after all, cemeteries. 
How the Cemetery City Came to Be
At the beginning of the 20th century, San Francisco began to grow rapidly. Thousands of people from around the world flocked to the city. They lived, worked, had children, grew old, and died. Urban planning was largely neglected, and residential buildings stood next to graves. This was not only unpleasant but also dangerous—the city was constantly at risk of epidemics. 
Therefore, in 1912, San Francisco officials, under pressure from doctors, community leaders, and expensive real estate owners, banned burials within the city. Furthermore, they decided to relocate existing graves to a designated site. This is how the town of Colma in San Mateo County, with its dedicated cemetery infrastructure, was born. 
The graves from San Francisco to Colma were moved over 20 years. About 150,000 bodies were moved to the new site. The transfer cost $10 each, or $250 today. There were remains for which no one paid. They were placed in mass graves, and the headstones were used for city needs. 
Today, Kolma's population is 1,800. Most of these people are somehow connected to the cemeteries, of which there are 17. The city covers an area of 4.9 square kilometers, 70 percent of which are occupied by burials. In 2024, the number of burials reached 1.5 million. This means that for every living person in Kolma, there are approximately 1,000 dead people. 
"It's great to be alive in Colma"
This unusual cemetery town attracts tourists. They are, as expected, offered themed souvenirs. T-shirts with the slogan "It's great to be alive in Colma" are very popular among visitors. This is the locals' unique sense of humor. Colma has plenty to offer. 
Tourists are attracted not only by the city's atmosphere, but also by the graves of famous figures. Many iconic figures in the United States are buried there, such as the founder of the denim industry, Levi Strauss, and the infamous media mogul, William Hearst. 
Funerals in Colma cost an average of $10,000 per grave. It's cheaper to be laid to rest in an urn placed in a columbarium. This "pleasure" costs $4,500. It's no surprise that most funerals these days are cremated. 
There's also a special service for the most discerning. For a certain fee, an urn containing the deceased's ashes will be "housed" in a multi-story columbarium with constantly running air conditioning. The rooms are finished in marble and granite, and the windows and doors are adorned with exquisite stained glass. The urns are stored in thousands of compartments with plastic doors built into the walls of the rooms. In addition to the ashes, many contain photographs of the deceased or objects they loved in life.
