Urine Culture Test
A urine culture grows whatever bacteria are present in a urine sample and counts them, which is how a real urinary tract infection is separated from a sample that merely looks suspicious. Results take a day or two, because bacteria need time to grow. Identifying the organism and testing which antibiotics kill it are usually billed as additional steps.
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What it is
A dipstick or a microscope can suggest a urinary infection within minutes, but neither proves one. A culture does. A measured amount of urine is spread on a growth plate and kept warm, and whatever bacteria or yeast were in the sample multiply into visible colonies. Counting those colonies is the point: a small number can mean contamination from the skin during collection, while a heavy growth of a single organism points to a genuine infection. This code covers that quantitative culture. Naming the specific organism, and testing it against a panel of antibiotics to see which ones work, are separate laboratory steps with their own codes — which is why a single urine sample can turn into several lines on a bill.
Why it is done
- To confirm a urinary tract infection when symptoms such as burning or frequent urination are present
- To identify which organism is responsible, so treatment can be aimed at it rather than guessed
- To check that an infection has actually cleared after a course of treatment
- To sort out repeated or stubborn infections that have not responded to the first antibiotic tried
What to expect
Most samples are collected by the clean catch method, using a kit and a brief cleaning step, with the first part of the stream discarded so that skin bacteria do not contaminate the result. When a person cannot produce a sample that way, urine may be drawn through a thin catheter passed into the bladder instead. Collection is the only part the patient participates in; everything else happens in the laboratory. Growth takes time, so a preliminary answer generally comes back in 24 to 48 hours and a final one with antibiotic sensitivities can take longer. Treatment is often started before the culture is finished and adjusted once it reports.
Questions worth asking
- Will antibiotic sensitivity testing be billed separately from the culture itself, and is it being ordered automatically?
- Is this being run in the clinic's own laboratory or sent to an outside reference lab? The outside lab bills independently and may not be in the same network as the clinic.
- If a urinalysis was done first and the culture was added by reflex, are both charged, and was the reflex ordered by the doctor or by a standing lab protocol?
- Is there a collection or handling fee on top of the test itself?
What Urine Culture Test costs by state
- Urine Culture Test cost in Texas — 103 hospitals, median $173.25
- Urine Culture Test cost in California — 91 hospitals, median $139.36
- Urine Culture Test cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $89.40
- Urine Culture Test cost in Florida — 55 hospitals, median $276.43
- Urine Culture Test cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $77.60
- Urine Culture Test cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $112.50
- Urine Culture Test cost in Wisconsin — 35 hospitals, median $80.00
- Urine Culture Test cost in Tennessee — 34 hospitals, median $26.73
- Urine Culture Test cost in Pennsylvania — 33 hospitals, median $57.60
- Urine Culture Test cost in Washington — 33 hospitals, median $59.98
- Urine Culture Test cost in Iowa — 29 hospitals, median $58.50
- Urine Culture Test cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $55.00
- Urine Culture Test cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $118.20
- Urine Culture Test cost in Arizona — 24 hospitals, median $55.27
- Urine Culture Test cost in Georgia — 24 hospitals, median $202.80
- Urine Culture Test cost in Kentucky — 23 hospitals, median $100.26
- Urine Culture Test cost in New Jersey — 23 hospitals, median $8.88
- Urine Culture Test cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $8.07
- Urine Culture Test cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $60.50
- Urine Culture Test cost in Minnesota — 18 hospitals, median $35.42
- Urine Culture Test cost in Oklahoma — 18 hospitals, median $47.82
- Urine Culture Test cost in West Virginia — 18 hospitals, median $65.50
- Urine Culture Test cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $119.23
- Urine Culture Test cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $71.82
- Urine Culture Test cost in Colorado — 12 hospitals, median $183.25
- Urine Culture Test cost in Oregon — 12 hospitals, median $35.25
- Urine Culture Test cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $47.45
- Urine Culture Test cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $48.00
- Urine Culture Test cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $114.00
- Urine Culture Test cost in Kansas — 10 hospitals, median $258.69
- Urine Culture Test cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $120.00
- Urine Culture Test cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $73.60
- Urine Culture Test cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $102.96
- Urine Culture Test cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $215.46
- Urine Culture Test cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $42.40
- Urine Culture Test cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $15.72
- Urine Culture Test cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $36.80
- Urine Culture Test cost in Louisiana — 2 hospitals, median $74.10
- Urine Culture Test cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $32.40
- Urine Culture Test cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $88.00
- Urine Culture Test cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $161.28
- Urine Culture Test cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $163.80
Urine Culture Test prices at hospitals
- Urine Culture Test at Banner North Colorado Medical Center - Loveland Campus, Loveland — $6.98
- Urine Culture Test at 64-0362400 Anderson Regional Main Campus, Meridian — $7.26
- Urine Culture Test at Bellevue Hospital Center, NY 10016 — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Lincoln Medical Center, Bronx — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Harlem Hospital Center, New York — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Ocean University Medical Center, Brick — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute (JRI), Edison — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune City — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Elmhurst Hospital Center, NY 11373 — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx — $8.07
- Urine Culture Test at South Brooklyn Health, Brooklyn — $8.07
See every published price for Urine Culture Test: the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.
Urine Culture Test cost — see all prices →Sources
- MedlinePlus: Urine culture (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)