Thyroid or neck ultrasound cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 12 hospitals list a cash price for ultrasound of the soft tissues of the head and neck, such as the thyroid: from $124.74 to $1,313.00, with a median of $907.20. The lowest listed price is at Hayward Sisters Hospital — $782.46 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $826.80 at 102 hospitals.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 11 cities for code 76536, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 23, 2026 and Jul 22, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayward Sisters Hospital lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 US THYROID | $124.74 | $415.80 | $115.50–$353.43 | 70% | Feb 23, 2026 source file |
| Hayward Sisters Hospital lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 US SOFT TISSUE NECK | $124.74 | $415.80 | $115.50–$353.43 | 70% | Feb 23, 2026 source file |
| Hayward Sisters Hospital lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 US BIOPSY SOFT TISSUE NECK | $124.74 | $415.80 | $115.50–$353.43 | 70% | Feb 23, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 US Soft Tissue of Head or Nec | $721.20 | $1,803.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Chinese Hospital Association San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Ultrasound scan of head and neck soft tissue | $1,313.00 | $1,313.00 | $85.69–$2,363.40 | — | Jul 22, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $124.74, median $907.20, highest $1,313.00 — a 10.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $907.20. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 11 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
This ultrasound looks at the soft tissues of the neck and head, most often the thyroid, as well as salivary glands and lymph nodes. It is ordered for a lump or swelling in the neck, thyroid nodules or an abnormal thyroid test.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the exam itself. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately, and a needle biopsy of a nodule is billed under different codes.