Reasons for acidic urine pH include: a high-meat diet, respiratory/metabolic acidosis, and hypochloridemia. A urine with a high concentration of glucose may also have a lower pH.

An alkaline pH may be the result of a vegetarian diet, respiratory/metabolic alkalosis, or a bacterial infection caused by urease-producing bacteria. Urine that contains bacteria can become more alkaline if the specimen remains at room temperature for an extended period of time.