Why Eggs Are So Expensive Right Now, Explained

Milk, bread and eggs. For decades, families in the United States have been flocking to grocery stores to buy these three staples. While the cost of milk and bread have seen significant increases in the last several years, they don’t come close to matching the dramatic uptick in cost for a carton of eggs.

The average price of a carton of eggs has more than doubled since 2019, according to data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and rose precipitously throughout 2024 as well. Now, a dozen eggs goes for $4.14 on average, with some cartons costing over $8.00 in certain localities. Avian flu, inflation and shifting demand are all partly to blame for this monumental price increase.

What Are Egg Prices Now?

In December 2024, the average price for a carton of eggs was $4.14, compared with just $2.50 a year earlier. That’s an increase of over 65 percent over the course of 12 months. However, egg prices fluctuate from month to month, and the situation is a bit less dire if we look at the average cost of eggs over the course of the entire year, rather than just the price in December. In 2024, a carton of eggs cost an average of $3.17, compared with $2.79 in 2023. That’s an increase of 13.6 percent — which is still nothing to sneeze at, but is significantly less than the 65 percent increase we see when looking solely at the last month of the year.

Zooming in a bit, egg prices also increased significantly over the course of 2024 alone, rising from $2.52 per dozen in January 2024 to $4.14 in December 2024, for an increase of 64 percent.

Is There an Egg Shortage?

Yes. A highly-contagious strain of avian flu was detected in commercial chicken flocks in February 2022, and the virus has done a number on the global egg market ever since. The flu affected around 51 million commercial and backyard birds in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and to make matters worse, demand at the end of the year was atypically high.

Several large retailers are experiencing egg shortages, with some stores lacking any eggs at all.

Why Are Eggs Still Expensive Right Now?

The higher cost of a dozen eggs in grocery stores is primarily due to three factors: disease, inflation and egg producers keeping prices high.

Avian Flu

H5N1, or avian flu, has been sweeping the country since the beginning of 2022, and has become the largest bird flu epidemic in U.S. history. It’s been detected in poultry flocks in all 50 states, and has affected over 134 million birds in the U.S., according to the CDC. Among these birds are chickens and turkeys being raised for meat, as well as laying hens who are responsible for eggs. In addition to the birds who died directly from the virus, tens of millions of birds have been killed in order to prevent the spread of the disease as well.

The risk of pandemics like avian flu have increased dramatically as a result of animal agriculture, both industrial and smaller scale. Factory farms cram chickens, turkeys and other birds into small confines, which makes it easier for viruses to mutate, spread and infect others, both animals and humans. This is one reason why animal agriculture is a huge risk factor for future pandemics. As long as chicken farms keep their animals penned together unnaturally, diseases like avian flu will continue to pose a threat.

Inflation

Inflation has hit the egg industry hard, and amplified the impacts of avian flu on egg prices. The cost of fuel and packaging for eggs has fluctuated wildly over the last few years, causing an increase in egg prices for the consumer.

In addition, the cost of chicken feed has gone up as well, further adding to production costs for egg producers. One farmer, who raises both layer hens and chickens for meat, recounts that in about two years, the cost of a single pound of feed went up by 17 cents, causing him to raise the cost of the eggs he sells by 20 percent.

Potential Corporate Price Gouging

Despite tens of millions of birds dying due to bird flu, and inflation driving the price of eggs up for consumers even further, some large-scale egg producers have nonetheless profited mightily since the outbreak. Profits at Cal-Maine, the largest egg producer in the country, skyrocketed in 2023 and 2024, and smaller producers have enjoyed an uptick in revenue in spite of bird flu as well.

This has led to accusations that egg producers are hiking the prices of their products beyond what’s required to keep up with inflation and account for losses due to the outbreak. In 2023 the farmer-led advocacy group Farm Action called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the apparent discrepancies, and evaluate whether consumers are being illegally price gouged.

What Are Other Possible Reasons for High Egg Prices?

The avian flu, inflation and potential corporate price gouging were the three main reasons for a price increase, but there are smaller factors that also may have played a role in the rising cost of eggs.

Popularity of Keto Lifestyles

Certain diets encourage the consumption of a particularly high number of eggs. In the United States, roughly 13 million people are following a keto diet. Within the diet, eggs are considered an ideal source of nutrients, meaning that those who have chosen to adopt a keto diet are likely to eat a large number of eggs.

Some might assume that the same would be true of vegetarian diets. However, data suggests that this assumption is not necessarily definitive. A study published in Nutrients in 2017 found that vegetarians consumed only slightly more eggs than their meat-eating counterparts in the United Kingdom.

‘Designer’ Eggs

Consumer concern for human health and the welfare of laying hens has led to the rise of so-called “designer eggs.” These eggs are packaged in plastic or cardboard, and sport terms such as “cage free,” “free range,” “organic” and “fortified.”

Because they tend to cost more to produce, these eggs are usually more expensive than their traditional counterparts. Interestingly, demand for some of these eggs, specifically cage-free eggs, has actually increased; as the average cost of eggs has gone up, these “designer” eggs are closer to being at price parity.

What Is President Trump Doing About Egg Prices?

During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump pledged to bring down the price of groceries if elected president. Though his campaign never got into specifics as to how he would do this, Trump has implied that the tariffs he plans to impose would reduce the cost of food for Americans. Experts disagree, however, and say that tariffs will most likely increase the cost of agricultural products, eggs included.

After winning the election, Trump quickly back-peddled on his earlier pledge, telling reporters that it will be “very hard” for him to reduce the price of groceries. He’s correct, as the president does not have the power to adjust the prices of products and services on the free market. Egg prices in particular fluctuate wildly based on factors that are fully out of Trump’s control, such as avian flu, so it’s unlikely that his administration will have much of a direct impact, if any, on egg prices.

What Are Supermarkets and Companies Doing About the Egg Situation?

The cost of eggs is not the only issue that consumers are facing. In many areas, the refrigerators that should house eggs are empty, with supermarkets unable to keep eggs on the shelves. Some supermarkets have even implemented a cap on how many cartons a consumer can purchase in their efforts to keep eggs on the shelves.

The Bottom Line

The price of eggs has been driven up by a variety of factors, most notably by inflation, and one of the most severe avian flu pandemics in recent history. These factors have caused the price of eggs to go up over the last few years.

While eggs are now harder to come by and more expensive, there are plenty of affordable alternatives that can be used in their place in your favorite recipes, without sacrificing flavor.

This piece has been updated.