Bacterial culture (wound) cost in Santa Rosa, CA
In Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA, 6 hospitals list a cash price for bacterial culture of a sample other than urine, blood or stool (wound, throat, fluid): from $15.45 to $423.00, with a median of $135.43. The lowest listed price is at Petaluma Valley Hospital and 1 other hospital — $119.98 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $133.00 at 193 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 4 cities for code 87070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and May 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 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petaluma Valley Hospital lowest Petaluma, CA · (707) 778-1111 HC CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL LAB | $15.45 | $30.29 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital lowest Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 525-5300 HC CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL LAB | $15.45 | $30.29 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital lowest Petaluma, CA · (707) 778-1111 HC CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER | $15.45 | $30.29 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital lowest Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 525-5300 HC CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER | $15.45 | $30.29 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma, CA · (707) 778-1111 HC CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER | $76.50 | $150.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma, CA · (707) 778-1111 HC CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL LAB | $76.50 | $150.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 525-5300 HC CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER | $76.50 | $150.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 525-5300 HC CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL LAB | $76.50 | $150.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg, CA · (707) 431-6500 HC CULTURE BACTERIA OTHER | $79.05 | $155.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sonoma Valley Hospital Sonoma, CA · (707) 935-5000 Bacterial culture, any other source except urine, blood or stool, aerobic | $191.80 | $274.00 | $8.45–$493.20 | 30% | May 22, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 571-4000 CUL BACT XCPT URINE BLOOD/STOOL AEROBIC ISOL | $254.80 | $455.00 | $8.00–$25.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULT OTHER SOURCE AEROBIC | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULTURE CATHETER TIP | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULTURE EAR | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULTURE EYE | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULTURE WOUND | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULT FLUID | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULT CSF | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULT GENITAL | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CULT OTHER SOURCE AEROBIC NOT UR/BLD/STL | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CULTURE SPUTUM | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULT NASAL | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital Santa Rosa, CA · (707) 576-4000 HCHG CORE CULT BODY FLUID | $423.00 | $423.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $15.45, median $135.43, highest $423.00 — a 27.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $79.05. 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 1 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
A bacterial culture grows bacteria from a sample such as a wound, throat swab, eye or fluid to find which germ causes an infection. It takes one to three days.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test; collecting the sample may be billed separately.