25 markers that matter, what “normal” versus “optimal” actually means, and current cash prices. Every reference range on this page is attributed to MedlinePlus, NIDDK, NIH ODS or NHLBI, with the source linked so you can check it yourself.
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Before The Numbers
This is the part most cheat sheets skip, and it's the part that stops you misreading your own results.
A reference range describes where most results from a reference population fall. It is not a boundary between healthy and sick. Two practical consequences: run enough markers and a perfectly healthy person will collect a flagged value or two by arithmetic alone, and a result can sit comfortably inside the range while still representing a real change from your own baseline.
MedlinePlus is explicit about this: “Because these ranges can vary, the term ‘normal’ can be misleading,” and “you can't compare your results to reference ranges that you might find elsewhere” or “compare test results from different labs.” Source: MedlinePlus, How to Understand Your Lab Results.
The ranges below are published values from national health agencies. They're here so you can see roughly where a marker sits and how much sources differ — not so you can overrule the range printed on your own report. Nearly every MedlinePlus encyclopedia page carries the same note: “Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some labs use different measurements or test different samples.”
Narrower “optimal” ranges circulate widely online. Some are reasonable clinical judgement; many are marketing, and very few come from a body that publishes its methodology. We are not going to invent a second set of numbers to look authoritative. Where an authoritative source does define graded categories — A1c, fasting glucose, vitamin D, eGFR, hs-CRP cardiovascular risk — those categories are in the tables below and attributed. Where no such source exists, the honest answer is that there isn't one.
Modern lipid guidance illustrates the point. NHLBI declines to give universal cut points and says to “check with your provider on the lipid levels that are best for you,” and the American Heart Association frames LDL as risk-dependent: “For some people, an LDL goal may be below 100 mg/dL. For others, it may be 70 mg/dL or 55 mg/dL for people at very high risk.” A single number on a sheet can't capture that.
One result is a data point; two results under the same conditions are information. That's the real argument for controlling your own testing schedule: you can build a line instead of a dot. Same lab, same time of day, same fasting state — otherwise you're measuring the conditions, not the marker.
The Sheet
Conventional US units. Prices are advertised direct-pay cash prices recorded from providers' own public pricing pages on 2 August 2026 — the full dataset with every source URL is in the Lab Test Price Index. Most of these markers are cheapest as part of a panel, so the price column names the panel each one usually rides in.
| Marker | Published range / thresholds | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hemoglobin A1c | Normal below 5.7% Prediabetes 5.7–6.4% Diabetes 6.5% or above |
Your average blood sugar over roughly the previous three months — which is why ~90 days is the natural re-test interval. | $29–$50 standalone |
| Fasting glucose | Normal 99 mg/dL or below Prediabetes 100–125 mg/dL Diabetes 126 mg/dL or above |
Blood sugar after an overnight fast; the standard diabetes screening test. Included in a CMP. | In CMP, $30–$44 |
Sources: NIDDK, The A1C Test & Diabetes; NIDDK, Diabetes Tests & Diagnosis.
| Marker | Published range / thresholds | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total cholesterol | Adults 20+: less than 200 mg/dL | All the cholesterol in your blood added together. A blunt instrument on its own — the components below matter more. | Lipid panel, $29–$51 |
| LDL cholesterol | Adults 20+: less than 100 mg/dL. AHA: goal may be below 100, or 70, or 55 mg/dL depending on risk | The cholesterol that builds arterial plaque. The target is risk-dependent, not universal — this is the marker where a single cut point misleads most. | |
| HDL cholesterol | 60 mg/dL or above is best Low: under 40 (men) / under 50 (women) |
Clears cholesterol from arteries. Note the AHA's caveat that HDL is not itself a treatment target. | |
| Triglycerides | Normal below 150 mg/dL Borderline high 150–199 High 200 mg/dL or more |
Blood fat that rises with sugar, alcohol and excess calories. Responds quickly to diet changes, so a good three-month re-test. | |
| hs-CRP | Low CV risk below 1.0 mg/L Average 1.0–3.0 mg/L High above 3.0 mg/L |
Low-grade inflammation, used as a cardiovascular risk marker. Skewed by any recent infection or injury — don't test it while ill. | $45–$83 |
Sources: MedlinePlus, Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know; NHLBI, Blood Cholesterol — Diagnosis; American Heart Association, What Your Cholesterol Levels Mean; MedlinePlus, C-reactive protein. The hs-CRP risk categories originate in a CDC/AHA scientific statement; we cite MedlinePlus, which states them directly.
| Marker | Published range | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSH | 0.4–4.8 µU/mL | The pituitary's signal to your thyroid. High TSH usually means an underactive thyroid. The single cheapest thyroid screen — and the one that most often needs company. | $35–$78 standalone |
| Free T4 | 0.8–1.9 ng/dL (10.3–24.5 pmol/L) | The unbound thyroid hormone actually available to your tissues. | Thyroid panel, $50–$100 |
| T3 (total / free) | Total 78–158 ng/dL Free 210–440 pg/dL |
The more potent thyroid hormone; helps confirm an overactive thyroid. MedlinePlus notes values are age-specific under 20. |
Sources: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — TSH test, Free T4 test, T3 test.
| Marker | Published range / thresholds | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D (25-OH) | Deficient below 12 ng/mL Inadequate 12 to under 20 Sufficient 20 ng/mL or above Potentially harmful above 50 ng/mL |
Your vitamin D stores, which drive calcium absorption and bone health. Moves slowly — allow weeks, not days, after changing a dose. | $57–$135 |
| Vitamin B12 | MedlinePlus: 299–1054 pg/mL NIH ODS: deficiency below 200–250 pg/mL; insufficiency below 300 pg/mL |
B12 available for nerve function and red-cell production. Note that two NIH sources use different low-end cut points — they are genuinely different thresholds, not a typo. | $35–$81 |
| Ferritin | Men 30–400 ng/mL Women 13–150 ng/mL |
Stored iron, and the earliest marker of iron deficiency. The most-missed cause of fatigue in menstruating women. | $29–$77 |
| Serum iron + TIBC | Iron: men 59–158, women 37–145 mcg/dL TIBC: men 171–505, women 149–492 mcg/dL Saturation: men 20–50%, women 15–45% |
Iron circulating right now, and how much more your blood could carry. Read alongside ferritin, not instead of it. | $32–$82 |
Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin D — Health Professional Fact Sheet and Vitamin B12 — Health Professional Fact Sheet; MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — Vitamin B12 level, Ferritin blood test, Serum iron test, Total iron binding capacity.
| Marker | Published range | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hemoglobin | Men 13.8–17.2 g/dL Women 12.1–15.1 g/dL |
The oxygen-carrying protein in red cells. Low is the definition of anemia. | CBC, $27–$44 |
| Hematocrit | Men 37–48% Women 34–43% |
The share of your blood volume made up of red cells. Moves with hydration as well as with red-cell mass. | |
| White blood cells | 4,500–11,000 per µL | Immune cell count; rises with infection and inflammation. | |
| Platelets | 150,000–400,000 per µL | The cells that form clots. Low means bleeding risk. |
Sources: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, WBC count, Platelet count.
| Marker | Published range / thresholds | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creatinine | Men 0.7–1.3 mg/dL Women 0.5–0.95 mg/dL |
A muscle waste product your kidneys filter out. High can mean reduced filtering — or a lot of muscle, or a hard workout yesterday. | CMP, $30–$44 (eGFR usually reported with it) |
| eGFR | 60 or above is in the normal range Under 60 may mean kidney disease 15 or less is kidney failure |
An estimate of how well your kidneys filter blood, calculated from creatinine. | |
| BUN | 6–20 mg/dL | Nitrogen waste from protein breakdown; reflects kidney function and hydration together. |
Sources: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — Creatinine blood test, BUN blood test; NIDDK, Chronic Kidney Disease Tests & Diagnosis (which also gives a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio of 30 mg/g or less as normal).
| Marker | Published range | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALT | 4–36 U/L | A liver enzyme; rises when liver cells are damaged. The more liver-specific of the pair. | CMP, $30–$44 |
| AST | 8–33 U/L | An enzyme from liver and muscle — which is why hard exercise before a draw can raise it without anything being wrong with your liver. |
Sources: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — ALT blood test, AST blood test.
| Marker | Published range | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium | 135–145 mEq/L | Your main electrolyte; mostly reflects fluid balance. | CMP, $30–$44 |
| Potassium | 3.7–5.2 mEq/L | Critical to heart rhythm and muscle function. This is one of the markers where a genuinely out-of-range value is a same-week conversation with a clinician, not a research project. |
Sources: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — Sodium blood test, Potassium test.
| Marker | Published range | What it tells you | Typical cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total testosterone | Men 17–50: 249–836 ng/dL Men over 50: 193–740 ng/dL Women 17–50: 8.4–48.1 ng/dL |
The main male sex hormone. Conventionally drawn before 10 a.m. because it varies through the day — an afternoon draw is a different test. | $49–$92 (total) |
| PSA | Up to 4.0 ng/mL considered normal; for men in their 50s or younger, below 2.5 ng/mL in most cases | A prostate protein used in screening. Whether and when to screen is a genuine judgement call — have it with a clinician. | $41–$87 |
Sources: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia — Testosterone, Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test.
Practical Notes
Pricing a panel? The two providers we track most closely both draw at CLIA-certified Quest and Labcorp locations. Full four-provider comparison with source URLs is in the price index.
Check prices at HealthLabs Check prices at RequestATestNot medical advice. This page is educational reference material. It lists published reference ranges and explains what tests measure — it does not interpret your results, diagnose anything, or replace a clinician. Compare your results to the range printed on your own lab report, and take anything markedly out of range, anything suggesting kidney or liver problems, and anything accompanied by symptoms to a qualified healthcare provider.
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