Jimmy Carter Is Receiving a State Funeral, but His Body Will Be Buried in Georgia

Although he spent the four most high-profile years of his life in Washington, D.C., it's fair to say that Jimmy Carter was never a creature of D.C. As his state funeral gets underway on Jan. 9, many want to know more about where Carter will be buried.

The state funeral in Washington is only one piece of the commemoration of Carter's life and legacy. Here's what we know about where the former president will ultimately be buried.

Carter was lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda for the week of Jan. 6, 2025, and his body will be transported to the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 9 for funeral proceedings. The funeral will include a eulogy from President Biden, as well as tributes from former President Gerald Ford and former Vice President Walter Mondale delivered by their sons. Vice President Kamala Harris will also attend the service, as will a number of members of Congress and the Supreme Court.

After the funeral proceedings have concluded, the memorial will continue in Georgia, where a private family funeral will be held and Carter will eventually be buried on the grounds of his home in Plains, Ga., which is also where his late wife Rosalynn is buried. Carter is not buried there yet, but his final resting place will be where he spent most of his life. Carter was president for just four years and spent the majority of the rest of his life in Georgia.

Carter was just a one-term president, and at the time he left office, his legacy was largely swallowed up by the Reagan revolution and the eight years that followed. Reagan got rid of many of the most significant aspects of Carter's agenda, but his considerable philanthropic efforts in the years after his presidency, and his progressive stances on civil rights and energy have helped endear him to a new generation of Americans.

“Jimmy Carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace,” Harris said on Jan. 8. “He lived his faith, he served the people, and he left the world better than he found it."

His humility was a huge part of the legacy that he left behind, and his burial plans speak to that humility. While many ex-presidents seek money or fame, Carter returned to his modest home and will be buried there as well.

Prior to his run for president, Carter was not at all a national figure. He had served as the governor of Georgia since 1970, and his campaign for president was one of the first to embrace the primary system that is now crucial to the nominating process.

As he is commemorated and put to rest, many are reflecting on the 100 years that Carter lived through, and the indelible ways that he shaped those 100 years both during his presidency and afterward. Every president gets a state funeral, but you get a sense that Carter's means a great deal to those attending.