Cosmetic surgery cost by city: 26 metro areas side by side
Pick a procedure: every metro area appears with its room and its anesthesia, from the highest to the lowest.
Tummy tuck: highest of 26 metro areas
$4,125
San Francisco; the lowest is San Antonio at $2,856, national rates give $3,115.
| Highest: San Francisco | $4,125 |
| National rates | $3,115 |
| Lowest: San Antonio | $2,856 |
Operating room and anesthesia only, both adjusted to the metro area. No public file prices the surgeon by metro, so the surgeon is not included.
| Metro area | Operating room | Anesthesia | Room and anesthesia |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $3,833 | $292 | $4,125 |
| New York City | $3,235 | $297 | $3,531 |
| Seattle | $3,172 | $283 | $3,455 |
| Los Angeles | $3,153 | $276 | $3,429 |
| San Diego | $3,112 | $272 | $3,384 |
| Boston | $3,033 | $281 | $3,314 |
| Washington, DC | $2,948 | $287 | $3,235 |
| Las Vegas | $2,900 | $264 | $3,164 |
| Minneapolis | $2,908 | $255 | $3,163 |
| Philadelphia | $2,861 | $275 | $3,137 |
| Chicago | $2,845 | $291 | $3,136 |
| Denver | $2,814 | $268 | $3,082 |
| Phoenix | $2,818 | $263 | $3,080 |
| Atlanta | $2,805 | $271 | $3,076 |
| Miami | $2,775 | $295 | $3,070 |
| Orlando | $2,787 | $274 | $3,060 |
| Houston | $2,782 | $274 | $3,057 |
| Salt Lake City | $2,776 | $262 | $3,039 |
| Fort Lauderdale | $2,746 | $281 | $3,027 |
| Dallas | $2,747 | $266 | $3,013 |
| Austin | $2,738 | $267 | $3,006 |
| Charlotte | $2,732 | $258 | $2,990 |
| Nashville | $2,704 | $255 | $2,958 |
| Tampa | $2,674 | $274 | $2,948 |
| Detroit | $2,670 | $277 | $2,947 |
| San Antonio | $2,594 | $263 | $2,856 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Where each line comes from · CMS 2026 rate files · not a quote
Moving from one city to another changes the two lines of a cosmetic surgery bill that Medicare adjusts for local costs; the surgeon's fee is set by each practice, and no public file gives it at all, by city or nationally. For a tummy tuck in a surgery center, the room and anesthesia benchmark runs from $2,856 in San Antonio to $4,125 in San Francisco, against $3,115 at national rates. The room line follows the FY 2026 wage index of each metro's core-based statistical area: San Francisco has the highest index among the areas priced here, 1.6914 for surgery centers, and San Antonio the lowest, 0.8213. The anesthesia line follows the conversion factor of the Medicare locality. In a hospital the spread is wider, because sixty percent of the hospital rate follows wages. Any larger gap between real quotes from two cities lies in the surgeon's fee, which no public file gives by city.
What moves with the city
Medicare adjusts the surgery center rate with the wage index of the area on half of the rate and the hospital rate on sixty percent of it, using the FY 2026 wage index. The anesthesia conversion factor is set for each Medicare locality, which may be a city, a group of counties or the rest of a state, in the CMS anesthesia file. Both adjustments are modest: across the metros priced here the tummy tuck room varies by $1,239 in a surgery center.
| Metro area | Tummy tuck, center | Tummy tuck, hospital | Breast augmentation, center |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $4,125 | $9,891 | $4,470 |
| New York City | $3,531 | $8,585 | $3,807 |
| Seattle | $3,455 | $7,993 | $3,728 |
| Los Angeles | $3,429 | $8,817 | $3,702 |
| San Diego | $3,384 | $8,813 | $3,654 |
| Boston | $3,314 | $8,239 | $3,571 |
| Washington, DC | $3,235 | $8,131 | $3,482 |
| Las Vegas | $3,164 | $7,272 | $3,412 |
| Minneapolis | $3,163 | $7,210 | $3,415 |
| Philadelphia | $3,137 | $7,097 | $3,377 |
| Chicago | $3,136 | $7,407 | $3,370 |
| Denver | $3,082 | $7,272 | $3,319 |
| Phoenix | $3,080 | $7,348 | $3,319 |
| Atlanta | $3,076 | $6,932 | $3,311 |
| Miami | $3,070 | $7,229 | $3,295 |
| Orlando | $3,060 | $7,208 | $3,292 |
| Houston | $3,057 | $6,945 | $3,288 |
| Salt Lake City | $3,039 | $6,986 | $3,273 |
| Fort Lauderdale | $3,027 | $7,215 | $3,253 |
| Dallas | $3,013 | $6,936 | $3,243 |
| Austin | $3,006 | $6,938 | $3,234 |
| Charlotte | $2,990 | $6,710 | $3,221 |
| Nashville | $2,958 | $6,625 | $3,187 |
| Tampa | $2,948 | $7,208 | $3,167 |
| Detroit | $2,947 | $6,893 | $3,165 |
| San Antonio | $2,856 | $6,933 | $3,070 |
What does not
The surgeon's fee is not measured by any public file, in a metro or nationally. The site leaves it out rather than invent a figure, and adds it only from the quote you enter. A quote in a high-cost city well above the room and anesthesia benchmark is therefore expected, and most of the gap is the surgeon's line and the facility's private prices. Asking for the lines separately shows whether the room and anesthesia are in line with the local benchmark.
Your procedure in your metro
Rhinoplasty, estimated total before the surgeon in Dallas
$3,184
| Surgeon's fee | not included, enter your quote |
| Anesthesia, 13 units | $266 |
| Operating room, surgery center | $2,919 |
Traveling for surgery
Some patients travel to a cheaper city or abroad. The benchmarks show that the room and anesthesia rarely justify a trip within the country; any saving comes from the surgeon's fee, and it must be set against travel, lodging, time off and the cost of follow-up far from the surgeon. The recovery page prices the days, and each city page details its own rates.