Vaccine administration cost in California

Prices at 172 hospitals in California, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $102 — 83% above the US median ($56), roughly 5.4× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Ventura County Medical Center Ventura, CA $17 $28 ★ 2/5 178 min 16.7%
Community Memorial Hospital-Ventura Ventura, CA $17 $28 ★ 4/5 192 min 15.2%
Colorado River Medical Center Needles, CA $18 128 min 15.0%
Bear Valley Community Hospital Big Bear Lake, CA $19 $19 143 min
Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Martinez, CA $20 ★ 4/5 175 min 14.2%
Adventist Health Tulare Tulare, CA $22 $82 ★ 3/5 195 min 15.0%
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital Banning, CA $22 $92 ★ 3/5 191 min 14.6%
Eisenhower Medical Center Rancho Mirage, CA $26 $66 ★ 4/5 259 min 14.8%
UCI Health-Orange Orange, CA $30 $125 ★ 4/5 323 min 14.7%
UCI Health-Los Alamitos Los Alamitos, CA $30 $125 ★ 1/5 236 min 15.4%
UCI Health-Fountain Valley Fountain Valley, CA $30 $125 ★ 2/5 161 min 15.7%
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville, CA $32 $50 ★ 3/5 116 min 14.5%
Loma Linda University Medical Center Loma Linda, CA $36 $60 ★ 4/5 464 min 14.9%
Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta Murrieta, CA $36 $60 ★ 2/5 226 min 16.4%
Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Loma Linda, CA $36 $60 ★ 3/5 222 min
Loma Linda VA Medical Center Loma Linda, CA $36 $60 ★ 3/5 14.7%
Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg, CA $49 $97 94 min 15.1%
Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz, CA $53 $98 ★ 4/5 194 min 14.2%
Mercy Medical Center Merced, CA $57 $76 ★ 3/5 228 min 15.1%
Kaweah Health Medical Center Visalia, CA $57 ★ 3/5 275 min 14.4%
El Camino Health Mountain View, CA $60 ★ 4/5 159 min 14.5%
Mercy General Hospital Sacramento, CA $61 $109 ★ 3/5 171 min 14.7%
Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA $61 $109 ★ 3/5 190 min 15.3%
Mercy San Juan Medical Center Carmichael, CA $61 $109 ★ 3/5 200 min 14.8%
John Muir Behavioral Health Center Concord, CA $62 $84

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated August 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$176
Cash / self-pay
$102
Insurer-negotiated
$92
Medicare pays
$19
$36$177
Median cash $102  ·  Medicare $19  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $102 — about 5.4× the Medicare rate ($19). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($38).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $176 list price could save about $73 (42%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

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Vaccine administration cost in other states

All Vaccine administration prices (national) → · All hospitals in California →