The graveyard has a number attached to it, and almost nothing in the game explains how that number is built. It gates two quests, it is the thing the guards are talking about, and it is easy to work on it for an hour and move it barely at all.
The model underneath is simple once you see it. A grave scores the sum of whatever is sitting in it, and the graveyard scores the sum of its graves.
Which means the first thing to understand is that a grave you have not finished is not worth zero. It is worth less than nothing.
An empty grave is worth minus three
A bare plot with nothing on it carries a rating of minus 3. Dig out a row of them in advance and you have actively made the graveyard worse than it was before you started.
Everything you add sits in that grave and counts toward it. The plot holds five things, so a finished grave is a headstone, a fence, the burial paperwork and room to spare.
Each empty plot is minus 3 until something goes in it, so a graveyard of eight bare graves starts at minus 24. Digging is not progress on its own.
Finish a grave before opening the next one and the number only ever goes up. It is the difference between a rating that climbs steadily and one that sits stubbornly near zero while you work.
Two ladders, and the mastery lock tells you the score
Headstones run from the 
Wooden Sign at 1 to 
Marble Cross II at 7, one point a step. Fences run the same way from 
Wooden Fence I at 1, and the two stack because they occupy different halves of the plot.
The neat part is that a headstone gives exactly as many points as the Building mastery it demands. 
Wooden Cross I is lock 2 and worth 2, 
Gravestone I is lock 4 and worth 4, and Marble Cross II is lock 7 and worth 7.
Fences are one point behind their lock all the way up, so 
Marble Fence I is lock 6 for 5 points. Then the top of the ladder breaks the pattern.
Every other fence pays one less than the mastery it asks for. 
Marble Fence II asks for 7 and pays 7, skipping the 6 that the pattern says should be there.
So the jump from Marble Fence I to Marble Fence II is two points rather than one, and it is the largest single upgrade anywhere on a grave. If you are one mastery level short of it, that is the level worth buying.
The paperwork counts too. A 
Burial Certificate III is worth 3 on top of whatever the stonework gives, so the best plot in the game is 7 and 7 and 3.
The yard around the graves also scores
Graves are most of the number but not all of it. A 
Lantern II is worth 5 on its own and the first one is worth 2, and they sit on the paths rather than in a plot.
Everything else in the yard scores too. Flower beds run 2, 4 and 6, benches and monuments the same, a Crypt is worth 10, and a Columbarium is 12 rising to 20, which is the largest single object in the zone.
They get expensive at the top, though. A 
Monument III is four Bronze Ingot, two Golden ingot and six Marble Plate for its 6 points, where a Lantern II is 5 for glass and steel.
Expanding the yard costs nothing in materials. Grave areas, walkways, columbarium areas and mixed areas are all free to place, which is another reason the empty plot trap catches people.
So the order that works is to take the space you already have to a finished state, then open more. The yard rewards depth before width.
What the rating is for
Two quests read the number directly. Grave Expectations wants the graveyard at 10 and sends you to Herbert at the Crossroads afterward, and a later step at the Crossroads wants 20 for Agatha.
Ten is a handful of finished graves. Twenty is the real target, and reaching it with dressed plots rather than dug ones is most of the work. The quest exists because the guards have run out of 
Faith.
All we’ve been doing is retreating… and losing faith. / Seems there’s nowhere left to retreat… and no faith left to lose. / And everybody’s just… kinda okay with it.
Herbert at the Crossroads, on why the graveyard matters
That is the whole reason the rating is a story beat rather than a score. A graveyard that looks cared for is what talks the guards into standing and fighting.
Graveyard Keeper 2 Graveyard Rating FAQ
How do you raise the graveyard rating in Graveyard Keeper 2?
Put things in the graves. A grave scores the sum of what sits in it, so a headstone, a fence and a burial certificate on each plot is the fastest route. Lanterns, monuments and flower beds add to the yard on top.
Why is my graveyard rating negative?
Empty graves. A plot with nothing in it is worth minus 3, so digging a row of graves ahead of decorating them drags the total down.
What is the best headstone?
Marble Cross II at 7 points. The ladder runs Wooden Sign 1, Wooden Cross I 2, Wooden Cross II 3, Gravestone I 4, Gravestone II 5, Marble Cross I 6, Marble Cross II 7.
What is the best fence?
Marble Fence II at 7. It is the only decoration that pays as much as its mastery lock rather than one less, so it is a two point jump from Marble Fence I instead of the usual one.
How many points is a fully decorated grave?
Seventeen. Marble Cross II for 7, Marble Fence II for 7 and a Burial Certificate III for 3, in a plot that holds five things.
Does the burial certificate affect the rating?
Yes. Certificate I is worth 1, II is worth 2 and III is worth 3, on top of the headstone and the fence.
What rating do the quests need?
Grave Expectations wants 10 and reports to Herbert at the Crossroads. A later Crossroads step wants 20 for Agatha.
Does expanding the graveyard cost anything?
No. Grave areas, walkways, columbarium areas and mixed areas are all free to place. Only filling them costs anything, which is why expanding early can make the rating worse.
Do lanterns raise the graveyard rating?
Yes. Lantern I is worth 2 and Lantern II is worth 5, and they sit on the paths rather than taking a grave slot.
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