Urine culture cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 16 hospitals list a cash price for urine culture for bacteria, with colony count: from $124.50 to $356.50, with a median of $124.75. The lowest listed price is at Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center and 7 other hospitals — $0.25 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $36.99 at 53 hospitals.
- The median here, $124.75, is 84% above the US median of $67.86.
- That is 15.5× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($8.07).
- 3 of 16 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 13 cities for code 87086, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 11, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Nov 4, 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrium Health Mercy, a facility of Carolinas Medical Center lowest Charlotte, NC HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$229.08 | 50% |
| Atrium Health University City lowest Charlotte, NC · (704) 548-6000 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$241.53 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Union lowest Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$236.55 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center lowest Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT+1 more line at this price File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$224.10 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Lincoln lowest Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$236.55 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Anson lowest Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$236.55 | 50% |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast lowest Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Nov 4, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$236.55 | 50% |
| Atrium Health Pineville lowest Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC URINE CULTURE, COLONY COUNT File of Oct 29, 2026 · source file | $124.50 | $249.00 | $8.07–$229.08 | 50% |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB BACTERIAL URINE CULTURE QT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $125.00 | $250.00 | — | 50% |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC CULT/COLONY COUNT QUANT URINE+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $135.27 | $501.00 | $43.99–$325.65 | 73% |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC · (704) 834-4891 CHG CULTURE URINE BACTERIAL QUANT CNT File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $175.00 | $175.00 | $4.84–$166.25 | — |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC · (704) 834-4891 CHG CULTURE URINE BACTERIAL QUANT CNT File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $175.00 | $175.00 | $4.84–$166.25 | — |
| CaroMont Regional Medical Center - Gastonia Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 CHG CULTURE URINE BACTERIAL QUANT CNT File of May 11, 2026 · source file | $175.00 | $175.00 | $4.84–$166.25 | — |
| Piedmont Medical Center Rock Hill, SC · (803) 329-1234 CULTURE URINE COLONY CT File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $302.25 | $403.00 | $1.00–$403.00 | 25% |
| Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill, SC · (803) 329-1234 CULTURE URINE COLONY CT File of Apr 15, 2026 · source file | $302.25 | $403.00 | $1.00–$403.00 | 25% |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB BACTERIAL URINE CULTURE QT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $356.50 | $713.00 | — | 50% |
Outpatient: lowest $124.50, median $124.75, highest $356.50 — a 2.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $124.75. 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 11 of 14 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 urine culture is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Urine culture explained.