Thyroid or neck ultrasound cost in San Jose, CA — inpatient
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for Ultrasound of the soft tissues of the head and neck, such as the thyroid as an inpatient: from $889.00 to $1,119.20, with a median of $907.20. The lowest listed price is at El Camino Hospital — $18.20 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $826.80 at 102 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 76536, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Camino Hospital lowest Mountain View, CA HC THYROID SONOGRAM | $889.00 | $3,556.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose San Jose, CA US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA US SOFT TISSUE HEAD & NECK REAL TIME IMGE DOCM | $907.20 | $1,620.00 | $142.00–$445.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA US Soft Tissue of Head or Nec | $1,119.20 | $2,798.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA US Soft Tissue Head/Neck | $1,119.20 | $2,798.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $889.00, median $907.20, highest $1,119.20 — a 1.3× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $907.20 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 of 2 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.