The rising cost of eggs, driven by inflation and a recent bird flu outbreak, is affecting consumers, restaurants, and grocery stores across the country. Some prices for a dozen eggs have gone up to $4 to $8 dollars, but it mostly depends on where you do your shopping.
Causes of rising egg prices
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is one of the reasons why the price of eggs have skyrocketed. Bird flu spreads through bird droppings and close contact with infected birds.
When an infected chicken produces eggs it could also be infected. The eggs are shaped quite differently and could carry the disease through the yolk and egg white. That is a reason why when a chicken is infected, their owners decide to get rid of them. This reduces the number of hens able to produce eggs.
Inflation, or an overall increase in prices, has made necessary items like chicken feed more expensive, and as well has increased the cost of transporting goods from farms to grocery stores.
Impact on restaurants
Many restaurants have been avoiding serving eggs or switching their recipes. Many have been using powdered or liquid eggs. Others, such as big chains like as Denny’s and Waffle House, have had to put a surcharge on their items containing eggs. According to ABC News “more than 1,900 restaurants in 25 states have added a 50 cent per egg surcharge to all menus.”
However this may not be the case for every restaurant because many places are unable to increase their prices so much or else they’ll end up driving their customers away. According to The New York Times, Holly, the small restaurant owner of Square Dinner in New York, says, “That’s the big challenge for a lot of owners right now.” Her restaurant that used to pay $490 for 210 eggs is now paying $1,680 for the same amount. This is a significant issue because eggs are central to their menu.
Effects on grocery stores
Grocery stores have usually sold a package of dozen eggs for the price of about $3 dollars during 2024, but recently it has been, on the average, about $4 dollars or more. National chains like Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Costco have limited egg purchases as a way to combat the short supply.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe’s stated, “Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day, in all Trader Joe’s stores across the country.”
According to NBC News, a spokesperson for Walmart stated their reason for why put in place limitations was, “To help ensure more customers can have access to eggs.”
Consumer’s reactions
During the first two months of 2025 the prices of eggs were the highest in history. According to CBS News, the average price of eggs in early 2025 reached $4.15 (compared to $1.54 in 2019).
In stores people have been seeing signs informing the customers that they have to raise prices.
“The prices are outrageous to me. I once saw a batch of eggs for $30!” Melanie Flores had stated.
There are even places where people have had to form long lines just to get a pack of a dozen eggs. Here, a person reported that they had been to Costco during the shortage and are describing a long line.
This point of view of a low-income family may be even worse because they are already facing difficulties with money and now have to be even more mindful of how much they are spending on a product. Eggs are a low budget product that contains protein and if prices are keep going up then they’ll end up having to buy fewer. This can reduce the amount of protein they get.
One way to save on eggs
There are still some ways to avoid higher prices:
- Many stores offer online coupons and discounts.
- Going to local farmer’s markets can sometimes offer fresh eggs for a lower price.
- Maybe even growing your own chickens could work but it takes a lot of effort and time.
- Comparing prices between stores could give a better visual on which one has a better deal.
