The median cash price for MRI of the Brain (without contrast) is $1,719, based on the stated self-pay prices 39 hospitals publish in their federal price-transparency files. Across all 41 hospitals we cover, prices run $246.95–$9,957.
| Hospital | Cash price | Gross charge | File dated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Ford Hospital Detroit, MI |
$44.30 est. | — | 2025-06-28 |
| Temple University Hospital Philadelphia, PA |
$186.13 est. | — | 2026-04-13 |
| MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center Baltimore, MD |
$246.95 cash | $251.99 | 2026-04-01 |
| HMH Hospitals Corporation (Hackensack) Hackensack, NJ |
$267.55 cash | $4,073 | 2025-12-31 |
| University of Michigan Health Ann Arbor, MI |
$322.40 cash | $806 | 3/31/2026 |
| Banner University Medical Center Phoenix Phoenix, AZ |
$385.42 cash | $2,424 | 2026-03-02 |
| Cleveland Clinic Main Campus Cleveland, OH |
$423.15 cash | $651 | 2026-06-16 |
| Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital (Dartmouth) Lebanon, NH |
$449.21 cash | $1,468 | 1/1/2026 |
| Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Livingston, NJ |
$694.82 cash | $3,279 | 2026-03-04 |
| Duke University Hospital Durham, NC |
$876.15 cash | $3,245 | 04/01/2026 |
| Scripps Green Hospital San Diego, CA |
$913.03 cash | $3,652.13 | 2026-03-30 |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla San Diego, CA |
$913.03 cash | $3,652.13 | 2026-03-30 |
| NYU Langone Tisch Hospital New York, NY |
$1,042.80 cash | $5,488.42 | 2026-01-01 |
| North Carolina Baptist Hospital (Wake Forest) Winston-Salem, NC |
$1,175.50 cash | $2,351 | 2025-10-08 |
| Dignity Health St Josephs Hospital and Medical Center Phoenix, AZ |
$1,263.66 cash | $3,308 | 2026-02-28 |
| Houston Methodist Hospital Houston, TX |
$1,335.50 cash | $2,671 | 2026-04-01 |
| WVU Hospitals Morgantown, WV |
$1,340 cash | $2,680 | 3/30/2026 |
| UC Irvine Medical Center Orange, CA |
$1,430.80 cash | $3,577 | 2026-04-01 |
| Tampa General Hospital Tampa, FL |
$1,522.15 cash | $4,349 | 2026-04-01 |
| OHSU Hospital Portland, OR |
$1,627.60 cash | $2,504 | 2026-03-23 |
| Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Houston, TX |
$1,667.36 cash | $5,210.50 | 2026-04-01 |
| UCSF Medical Center San Francisco, CA |
$1,719 cash | $5,730 | 2026-04-01 |
| Baylor University Medical Center Dallas, TX |
$2,027.65 cash | $3,379.41 | 2026-02-18 |
| Montefiore Medical Center New York, NY |
$2,122.23 cash | $3,245 | 2026-04-01 |
| University Hospitals Health System Cleveland, OH |
$2,157 cash | $2,876 | 2025-05-16 |
| Froedtert Hospital Milwaukee, WI |
$2,581.70 cash | $4,694 | 2025-12-31 |
| Texas Children's Hospital Houston, TX |
$2,782.51 cash | $4,153 | 2026-03-05 |
| Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle, WA |
$2,835.80 cash | $2,835.80 | 03/31/2026 |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center San Diego, CA |
$3,036 cash | $4,048 | 04/01/2026 |
| Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA |
$3,249.75 cash | $4,333 | 2026-04-01 |
| Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital Chicago, IL |
$3,390.80 cash | $4,844 | 4/1/2026 |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA |
$3,542.57 cash | $5,450.10 | 2025-11-26 |
| Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center Oakland, CA |
$3,628.80 cash | $6,480 | 4/1/2026 |
| Brigham and Womens Hospital Boston, MA |
$3,858 cash | $5,144 | 2026-03-27 |
| Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA |
$3,858 cash | $5,144 | 2026-03-27 |
| University of Chicago Medical Center Chicago, IL |
$4,097 cash | $4,097 | 2026-04-01 |
| Providence Alaska Medical Center Anchorage, AK |
$4,176.90 cash | $5,355 | 2026-04-01 |
| OSF HealthCare Peoria, IL |
$4,532.40 cash | $7,554 | 2026-03-31 |
| Stanford Health Care Palo Alto, CA |
$4,697.60 cash | $11,744 | 2026-04-01 |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY |
$6,467 cash | $6,467 | 2025-12-01 |
| Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA |
$9,957 cash | $9,957 | 2026-02-10 |
"Cash price" = the hospital's published discounted_cash self-pay rate. "Gross charge" = the sticker price before any discount — what cash-pay patients are first billed and can negotiate down toward the cash rate.
If you're paying cash for MRI of the Brain (without contrast), the hospital's published self-pay price is a ceiling you can negotiate from, not a fixed quote. Bring the figure above (and the source file) to billing and ask for the cash / prompt-pay rate. Free-standing imaging centers and ASCs are often well below hospital outpatient rates.