Colma, California
According to KQED, about three-quarters of the land in Colma, California, is zoned for cemeteries, and much of its local economy is dependent on the funeral industry. Although the town has approximately 1,500 living residents, there are a staggering number of deceased ones.
As Pat Hatfield of the local historical society put it, “Maybe a million and a half underground, so we’re a little bit outgunned.” As for why Colma has such a macabre reason to exist, its very creation is the result of San Franciso’s government and residents wanting its cemeteries moved elsewhere to take advantage of the city’s valuable land in the late 19th Century. Since the dead had to go somewhere, Colma was incorporated as the Bay Area’s cemetery town.