Urine culture cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 13 hospitals list a cash price for urine culture for bacteria, with colony count: from $8.00 to $195.00, with a median of $139.36. The lowest listed price is at Paradise Valley Hospital — $131.36 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $139.36 at 193 hospitals.
- The median here, $139.36, is 105% above the US median of $67.86.
- That is 17.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($8.07).
- San Diego, CA ranks 3rd of 5 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 9 cities for code 87086, 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 Sep 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Valley Hospital lowest National City, CA · (619) 470-4321 URINE CULTURE LC008847+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $8.00 | $46.60 | $6.48–$206.75 | 83% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Scripps Nicu-Urine Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $52.50 | $70.00 | — | 25% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Culture Urine File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $73.60 | $122.66 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Culture Urine File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $73.60 | $122.66 | — | 40% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rsp Culture Urine Quant Count+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $86.25 | $115.00 | — | 25% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Bacterial Colony Count, Urine File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $112.75 | $205.00 | $8.07–$276.75 | 45% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 Urine Culture File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $121.10 | $201.83 | $5.71–$159.24 | 40% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 CULTURE BACTERIAL QUANTTATIVE COLONY COUNT URINE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $139.36 | $268.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 CULTURE BACTERIAL QUANTTATIVE COLONY COUNT URINE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $139.36 | $268.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 CULTURE BACTERIAL QUANTTATIVE COLONY COUNT URINE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $139.36 | $268.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 48% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Liv-Urine Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $150.75 | $201.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Lab-Urine Culture File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $168.75 | $225.00 | — | 25% |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC URINE CULTURE QUANT COLON File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $195.00 | $260.00 | $1.00–$254.80 | 25% |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC URINE CULTURE QUANT COLON File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $195.00 | $260.00 | $1.00–$200.20 | 25% |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 939-3400 HC URINE CULTURE QUANT COLON File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $195.00 | $260.00 | $1.00–$254.80 | 25% |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC URINE CULTURE QUANT COLON File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $195.00 | $260.00 | $1.30–$208.00 | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Urine Culture Quant Colony File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $255.75 | $341.00 | — | 25% |
Outpatient: lowest $8.00, median $139.36, highest $195.00 — a 24.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $139.36. 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 7 of 10 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.