All procedures / X-Ray
How much does an X-ray cost?NPI VERIFIED
It depends on the body part. Without insurance, hospitals that publish a self-pay price list a median of $224 for the chest to $359 for the lower back. With insurance, the median rate hospitals negotiated runs from $112 for the chest to $157 for the lower back, across 1,206–1,210 US hospitals that publish federally required price files. Hospitals disagree more than the X-ray types do: for the lower back, the priciest tenth negotiated more than $536, 5.8× the cheapest tenth (under $93).
X-ray prices by body part, side by side
middle half of hospitalsmedian insurance ratemedian cash priceMedicare rate · one shared scale, $0–$400
Codes Chest X-Ray 71046 · Lower Back X-Ray 72110 · Source: hospital machine-readable files (45 CFR §180), file dates 2022-11-12 to 2026-09-28 · Medicare baseline: CMS OPPS Addendum B, July 2026 · Data extracted 2026-10-06 · Page updated 2026-10-15
Insurance rate
$112–$157
median by body part · 2 X-ray types
Without insurance
$224–$359
median cash price by body part
Cash ÷ insurance
2.0×–2.3×
median cash price over median negotiated rate
Medicare baseline
$89–$107
CMS OPPS national · July 2026
These are contract reference rates, not your bill. A median across hospitals is not a quote for your plan or network. Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible, coinsurance and network status.
This is the hospital's facility fee. The radiologist who reads the images bills separately.
Coverage: 1,206–1,210 of the 5,419 hospitals in the CMS roster have an identity-verified price file with these services in our data. It is not a random sample, and a hospital missing here has not been judged non-compliant — we may simply not have its file yet. Up to 95 of these hospital files were more than 12 months old at extraction; we keep the figures and say so.
Each X-ray, by state and insurance type
Reuse: the price statistics on this page are licensed CC BY 4.0 — use them for anything, including commercial work, crediting "HospitalPriceGrid (ArtiLabs)". Site text, design and paid data extracts are not covered.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does an X-ray cost without insurance?
- Hospitals that publish a self-pay (cash) price list a median of $224 for the chest up to $359 for the lower back (957–965 hospitals list one, depending on the body part). That is the hospital's facility charge — the radiologist who reads the images bills separately. Freestanding imaging centers aren't in these hospital files and are often cheaper for self-pay patients.
- How much does an X-ray cost with insurance?
- With insurance, the hospital's negotiated rate is what your plan is billed. Median negotiated rates run from $112 for the chest to $157 for the lower back. Until you meet your deductible you typically pay that negotiated amount; after it, your coinsurance or copay applies. Your plan's own rate can sit above or below these figures.
- Which X-ray costs the most?
- Of the 2 X-ray types here, the lower back has the highest median negotiated rate ($157) and the lower back the highest median cash price ($359); the chest has the lowest negotiated rate ($112). Each one has its own page with state and insurance-type breakdowns.
- Why does the same X-ray cost so differently from hospital to hospital?
- Each hospital negotiates separately with each insurer. For the lower back, the priciest tenth of hospitals negotiated more than $536 — 5.8 times the cheapest tenth (under $93).
- Is the cash price cheaper than using insurance?
- Usually not, but sometimes. Median cash prices here are 2.0×–2.3× the median negotiated rates. Still, at 26%–28% of the hospitals that list a cash price (depending on the body part), it is lower than that hospital's own median negotiated rate. If you have a high deductible, ask the hospital for its self-pay price before you book.
- What is the Medicare rate shown here?
- It is the CMS national outpatient (OPPS) payment rate (July 2026): $89–$107 depending on the body part. We show it as a government baseline: median negotiated rates are 1.3–1.5 times it.
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