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Procedure price report · Computerized axial tomography (CT) scan head

CT scan of the head without contrast

CPT 70450the billing code this page is about

A computed tomography scan of the head or brain performed without injected contrast dye.

Hospitals typically charge $1,127 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 3,373 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,177. Most fall between $532 and $2,070 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
3,373
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 3,373 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$285$634$1,127$1,856$2,995

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 11× what the cheapest tenth charges ($285 vs $2,995).

How the prices are spread

$144 – $204: 51 hospitals$144$204 – $289: 123 hospitals$289 – $408: 155 hospitals$289$408 – $576: 244 hospitals$576 – $815: 381 hospitals$576$815 – $1,152: 604 hospitals$1,152 – $1,628: 632 hospitals$1,152$1,628 – $2,301: 449 hospitals$2,301 – $3,253: 276 hospitals$2,301$3,253 – $4,598: 122 hospitals$3,253median $1,127price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (3,037 of 3,373 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$144$20451
$204$289123
$289$408155
$408$576244
$576$815381
$815$1,152604
$1,152$1,628632
$1,628$2,301449
$2,301$3,253276
$3,253$4,598122

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$107
Median cash price$1,127
Cash as a multiple of Medicare10.6×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,127.

Alaska: median $1,874 across 17 hospitalsAK$1,874Maine: median $857 across 25 hospitalsME$857Vermont: median $1,553 across 12 hospitalsVT$1,553New Hampshire: median $1,272 across 22 hospitalsNH$1,272Washington: median $1,191 across 71 hospitalsWA$1,191Idaho: median $1,008 across 22 hospitalsID$1,008Montana: median $1,134 across 19 hospitalsMT$1,134North Dakota: median $976 across 32 hospitalsND$976Minnesota: median $1,041 across 101 hospitalsMN$1,041Illinois: median $1,835 across 136 hospitalsIL$1,835Wisconsin: median $1,014 across 109 hospitalsWI$1,014Michigan: median $868 across 86 hospitalsMI$868New York: median $540 across 111 hospitalsNY$540Massachusetts: median $1,058 across 53 hospitalsMA$1,058Oregon: median $920 across 46 hospitalsOR$920Nevada: median $1,486 across 21 hospitalsNV$1,486Wyoming: median $1,249 across 14 hospitalsWY$1,249South Dakota: median $2,344 across 43 hospitalsSD$2,344Iowa: median $1,368 across 88 hospitalsIA$1,368Indiana: median $608 across 95 hospitalsIN$608Ohio: median $854 across 142 hospitalsOH$854Pennsylvania: median $797 across 115 hospitalsPA$797New Jersey: median $324 across 58 hospitalsNJ$324Connecticut: median $827 across 19 hospitalsCT$827Rhode Island: median $840 across 10 hospitalsRI$840California: median $2,288 across 217 hospitalsCA$2,288Utah: median $1,355 across 42 hospitalsUT$1,355Colorado: median $1,271 across 66 hospitalsCO$1,271Nebraska: median $1,974 across 84 hospitalsNE$1,974Missouri: median $1,019 across 76 hospitalsMO$1,019Kentucky: median $1,149 across 67 hospitalsKY$1,149West Virginia: median $784 across 43 hospitalsWV$784Virginia: median $1,017 across 71 hospitalsVA$1,017Maryland: median $104 across 38 hospitalsMD$104Delaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $899 across 53 hospitalsAZ$899New Mexico: median $1,036 across 29 hospitalsNM$1,036Kansas: median $1,006 across 88 hospitalsKS$1,006Arkansas: median $444 across 38 hospitalsAR$444Tennessee: median $669 across 78 hospitalsTN$669North Carolina: median $1,269 across 95 hospitalsNC$1,269South Carolina: median $1,396 across 53 hospitalsSC$1,396Oklahoma: median $924 across 71 hospitalsOK$924Louisiana: median $656 across 56 hospitalsLA$656Mississippi: median $697 across 49 hospitalsMS$697Alabama: median $969 across 42 hospitalsAL$969Georgia: median $1,044 across 107 hospitalsGA$1,044Hawaii: median $1,146 across 17 hospitalsHI$1,146Texas: median $1,789 across 246 hospitalsTX$1,789Florida: median $2,655 across 174 hospitalsFL$2,655
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,127. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Florida FL174$2,655+136%$968 – $10,102
South Dakota SD43$2,344+108%$1,854 – $3,029
California CA217$2,288+103%$986 – $3,627
Nebraska NE84$1,974+75%$1,090 – $2,291
Alaska AK17$1,874+66%$927 – $2,751
Illinois IL136$1,835+63%$860 – $2,475
Texas TX246$1,789+59%$815 – $3,057
Vermont VT12$1,553+38%$1,045 – $2,031
Nevada NV21$1,486+32%$559 – $2,171
South Carolina SC53$1,396+24%$1,101 – $1,936
Iowa IA88$1,368+21%$1,024 – $1,682
Utah UT42$1,355+20%$1,072 – $1,733
New Hampshire NH22$1,272+13%$777 – $3,101
Colorado CO66$1,271+13%$882 – $2,348
North Carolina NC95$1,269+13%$821 – $1,493
Wyoming WY14$1,249+11%$649 – $1,827
Washington WA71$1,191+6%$553 – $1,524
Kentucky KY67$1,149+2%$653 – $1,976
Hawaii HI17$1,146+2%$904 – $1,380
Montana MT19$1,134+1%$907 – $1,549
Massachusetts MA53$1,058−6%$585 – $1,430
Georgia GA107$1,044−7%$493 – $1,680
Minnesota MN101$1,041−8%$432 – $1,530
New Mexico NM29$1,036−8%$798 – $1,740
Missouri MO76$1,019−10%$724 – $1,775
Virginia VA71$1,017−10%$628 – $2,413
Wisconsin WI109$1,014−10%$335 – $1,470
Idaho ID22$1,008−11%$737 – $1,230
Kansas KS88$1,006−11%$655 – $1,558
North Dakota ND32$976−13%$726 – $1,469
Alabama AL42$969−14%$466 – $1,662
Oklahoma OK71$924−18%$568 – $1,428
Oregon OR46$920−18%$492 – $1,459
Arizona AZ53$899−20%$272 – $3,985
Michigan MI86$868−23%$275 – $1,760
Maine ME25$857−24%$400 – $1,287
Ohio OH142$854−24%$589 – $1,257
Rhode Island RI10$840−26%$285 – $1,100
Connecticut CT19$827−27%$412 – $1,201
Pennsylvania PA115$797−29%$277 – $1,810
West Virginia WV43$784−30%$579 – $1,441
Mississippi MS49$697−38%$496 – $909
Tennessee TN78$669−41%$398 – $1,326
Louisiana LA56$656−42%$285 – $1,194
Indiana IN95$608−46%$341 – $1,247
New York NY111$540−52%$151 – $1,783
Arkansas AR38$444−61%$384 – $1,004
New Jersey NJ58$324−71%$125 – $536
Maryland MD38$104−91%$72 – $143
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $1,127.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,369$1,095$475 – $2,273
Children’s65$1,332$966 – $2,512
Critical access929$1,182$663 – $1,865
Ownership
For-profit491$1,758$698 – $5,902
Government610$1,100$573 – $1,742
Non-profit2,262$1,080$492 – $1,933
System affiliation
Part of a system2,772$1,139$532 – $2,174
Independent601$1,077$496 – $1,769

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,918
Median cash price$1,127
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

2,308 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,168 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,217; most fall between $601 and $2,058.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 2,308 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$345$699$1,168$1,879$2,717

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.9× what the cheapest tenth charges ($345 vs $2,717).

Of the 2,555 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 2,308 gave a usable cash price; 134 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 113 a list price only.

How complete is this

3,373 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (85%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 3,732 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted3,373
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here235
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded123
Hospitals that filed this code3,732

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between July 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Computerized axial tomography (CT) scan head family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as PR CT Scan,Head/Brain,W/O Contrast Matl.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “CT scan of the head without contrast (CPT 70450) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-70450-ct-scan-of-the-head-without-contrast