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Procedure price report · Magnetic resonance imaging

MRI of a leg joint without contrast

CPT 73721the billing code this page is about

Magnetic resonance imaging of one joint of the lower limb, such as the hip, knee, ankle or foot, performed without contrast dye.

Hospitals typically charge $1,765 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 3,194 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,823. Most fall between $825 and $3,140 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
3,194
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 3,194 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
$519$974$1,765$2,755$4,453

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.6× what the cheapest tenth charges ($519 vs $4,453).

How the prices are spread

$328 – $442: 72 hospitals$328$442 – $597: 198 hospitals$597 – $805: 194 hospitals$597$805 – $1,085: 312 hospitals$1,085 – $1,464: 331 hospitals$1,085$1,464 – $1,974: 518 hospitals$1,974 – $2,662: 566 hospitals$1,974$2,662 – $3,591: 363 hospitals$3,591 – $4,843: 201 hospitals$3,591$4,843 – $6,531: 121 hospitals$4,843median $1,765price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,876 of 3,194 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$328$44272
$442$597198
$597$805194
$805$1,085312
$1,085$1,464331
$1,464$1,974518
$1,974$2,662566
$2,662$3,591363
$3,591$4,843201
$4,843$6,531121

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$244
Median cash price$1,765
Cash as a multiple of Medicare7.2×

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 $1,765.

Alaska: median $2,997 across 14 hospitalsAK$2,997Maine: median $1,124 across 24 hospitalsME$1,124Vermont: median $3,254 across 11 hospitalsVT$3,254New Hampshire: median $1,935 across 21 hospitalsNH$1,935Washington: median $1,610 across 63 hospitalsWA$1,610Idaho: median $1,647 across 22 hospitalsID$1,647Montana: median $1,607 across 16 hospitalsMT$1,607North Dakota: median $1,892 across 32 hospitalsND$1,892Minnesota: median $1,794 across 99 hospitalsMN$1,794Illinois: median $2,740 across 136 hospitalsIL$2,740Wisconsin: median $2,110 across 107 hospitalsWI$2,110Michigan: median $1,577 across 81 hospitalsMI$1,577New York: median $900 across 110 hospitalsNY$900Massachusetts: median $1,974 across 49 hospitalsMA$1,974Oregon: median $1,665 across 45 hospitalsOR$1,665Nevada: median $1,381 across 18 hospitalsNV$1,381Wyoming: median $1,652 across 12 hospitalsWY$1,652South Dakota: median $3,590 across 36 hospitalsSD$3,590Iowa: median $2,250 across 87 hospitalsIA$2,250Indiana: median $894 across 92 hospitalsIN$894Ohio: median $1,432 across 127 hospitalsOH$1,432Pennsylvania: median $1,656 across 115 hospitalsPA$1,656New Jersey: median $327 across 45 hospitalsNJ$327Connecticut: median $1,420 across 22 hospitalsCT$1,420Rhode Island: median $1,381 across 10 hospitalsRI$1,381California: median $2,625 across 191 hospitalsCA$2,625Utah: median $2,338 across 43 hospitalsUT$2,338Colorado: median $1,838 across 63 hospitalsCO$1,838Nebraska: median $2,491 across 82 hospitalsNE$2,491Missouri: median $1,647 across 76 hospitalsMO$1,647Kentucky: median $1,523 across 66 hospitalsKY$1,523West Virginia: median $1,466 across 40 hospitalsWV$1,466Virginia: median $1,933 across 71 hospitalsVA$1,933Maryland: median $511 across 36 hospitalsMD$511Delaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $1,172 across 46 hospitalsAZ$1,172New Mexico: median $1,569 across 30 hospitalsNM$1,569Kansas: median $1,251 across 85 hospitalsKS$1,251Arkansas: median $584 across 31 hospitalsAR$584Tennessee: median $786 across 78 hospitalsTN$786North Carolina: median $2,061 across 87 hospitalsNC$2,061South Carolina: median $2,239 across 52 hospitalsSC$2,239Oklahoma: median $1,228 across 63 hospitalsOK$1,228Louisiana: median $883 across 53 hospitalsLA$883Mississippi: median $1,058 across 49 hospitalsMS$1,058Alabama: median $1,697 across 35 hospitalsAL$1,697Georgia: median $1,516 across 103 hospitalsGA$1,516Hawaii: median $1,489 across 14 hospitalsHI$1,489Texas: median $2,257 across 230 hospitalsTX$2,257Florida: median $3,354 across 170 hospitalsFL$3,354
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,765. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
South Dakota SD36$3,590+103%$3,147 – $4,678
Florida FL170$3,354+90%$1,326 – $8,013
Vermont VT11$3,254+84%$2,218 – $3,539
Alaska AK14$2,997+70%$1,684 – $4,510
Illinois IL136$2,740+55%$1,314 – $3,835
California CA191$2,625+49%$1,461 – $4,976
Nebraska NE82$2,491+41%$1,752 – $2,967
Utah UT43$2,338+32%$1,675 – $2,683
Texas TX230$2,257+28%$1,244 – $4,903
Iowa IA87$2,250+27%$1,634 – $2,991
South Carolina SC52$2,239+27%$1,665 – $3,551
Wisconsin WI107$2,110+20%$778 – $2,421
North Carolina NC87$2,061+17%$1,360 – $2,966
Massachusetts MA49$1,974+12%$918 – $3,037
New Hampshire NH21$1,935+10%$1,409 – $4,034
Virginia VA71$1,933+9%$838 – $4,861
North Dakota ND32$1,892+7%$1,621 – $2,511
Colorado CO63$1,838+4%$1,024 – $2,589
Minnesota MN99$1,794+2%$773 – $2,620
Alabama AL35$1,697−4%$874 – $3,296
Oregon OR45$1,665−6%$1,310 – $1,922
Pennsylvania PA115$1,656−6%$442 – $3,683
Wyoming WY12$1,652−6%$526 – $2,582
Missouri MO76$1,647−7%$998 – $2,583
Idaho ID22$1,647−7%$1,404 – $1,914
Washington WA63$1,610−9%$942 – $2,202
Montana MT16$1,607−9%$1,154 – $2,359
Michigan MI81$1,577−11%$574 – $3,208
New Mexico NM30$1,569−11%$850 – $2,260
Kentucky KY66$1,523−14%$959 – $3,258
Georgia GA103$1,516−14%$829 – $2,661
Hawaii HI14$1,489−16%$1,132 – $1,748
West Virginia WV40$1,466−17%$915 – $2,124
Ohio OH127$1,432−19%$1,013 – $2,367
Connecticut CT22$1,420−20%$834 – $1,619
Rhode Island RI10$1,381−22%$556 – $2,100
Nevada NV18$1,381−22%$1,095 – $2,580
Kansas KS85$1,251−29%$760 – $2,510
Oklahoma OK63$1,228−30%$691 – $2,009
Arizona AZ46$1,172−34%$457 – $4,322
Maine ME24$1,124−36%$406 – $2,140
Mississippi MS49$1,058−40%$487 – $1,530
New York NY110$900−49%$343 – $2,277
Indiana IN92$894−49%$538 – $1,949
Louisiana LA53$883−50%$525 – $1,605
Tennessee TN78$786−55%$496 – $1,878
Arkansas AR31$584−67%$528 – $1,365
Maryland MD36$511−71%$272 – $794
New Jersey NJ45$327−81%$276 – $1,250
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 $1,765.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,270$1,675$759 – $3,296
Children’s64$2,367$1,409 – $3,389
Critical access850$1,892$982 – $2,818
Ownership
For-profit470$2,439$915 – $7,584
Government575$1,691$829 – $2,617
Non-profit2,139$1,739$794 – $2,971
System affiliation
Part of a system2,618$1,819$846 – $3,265
Independent576$1,546$720 – $2,653

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$2,983
Median cash price$1,765
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

2,183 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,826 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,881; most fall between $916 and $3,125.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 2,183 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
$574$1,020$1,826$2,832$3,941

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.9× what the cheapest tenth charges ($574 vs $3,941).

Of the 2,428 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 2,183 gave a usable cash price; 132 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

3,194 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (81%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 3,564 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted3,194
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here231
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded134
Hospitals that filed this code3,564

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 September 4, 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 Magnetic resonance imaging family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as MRI Any Jt Lower Extrem W/O Contrast Matrl.

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, “MRI of a leg joint without contrast (CPT 73721) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-73721-mri-of-a-leg-joint-without-contrast