Why Eggs Are So Expensive Right Now

The price of eggs is expected to skyrocket by more than 40% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Over the past 12 months, prices have already risen steadily, going from $2.52 per-dozen for large, Grade A eggs in January 2024 to $4.95 this January, per data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The shell-shocking price increase of eggs is due to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu, outbreak. According to USDA, outbreaks of bird flu "resulted in the depopulation of 13.2 million birds in December 2024,” contributing to the national egg shortage.

Officials are scrambling to try to keep egg prices at bay. As of Feb. 20, the Nevada Department of Agriculture has temporarily suspended a previous state law requiring eggs to be cage-free—eggs that come from hens that do not live in cages. The agency also allowed for the sale of Grade B quality eggs, which are a lower quality than Grade A eggs and are typically used to make frozen and dried egg products. 

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 7 that the state would be shutting down live bird markets after the virus was detected in seven markets in New York City.

American restaurant chain Waffle House announced they would be adding a 50-cent per egg surcharge to orders due to the egg shortage and rise in prices. "While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” Waffle House said in a Feb. 4 statement to the Associated Press. 

And grocery store giants including Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Sprout have placed limits on the number of egg cartons patrons can purchase. 

Here’s what to know. 

What's causing the egg shortage?

While the pandemic and inflation caused the overall price of food to rise, the current egg shortage is tied to the widespread bird flu, which first affected livestock on U.S. turkey farms in 2020, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By 2024, the H5N1 strain of the virus began to impact goat kids and dairy cows. The first-ever reported cow-to-human spread of the avian influenza virus was also reported last April, though more than 60 humans have contracted the virus overall.

USDA said that the national egg supply is “light with little chance for improvement” in its weekly egg markets overview published on Feb. 14, as supplies remain unbalanced. Egg prices will continue to increase in price as people work to find new suppliers in the tight market. HPAI outbreaks remain persistent. Stocks of frozen eggs in storage have decreased, marking the lowest level of egg products stocks in the last decade, according to USDA. Thirty outbreaks have been confirmed in eight states. Ohio—one of the top states for egg production—Indiana, and Missouri appear to be experiencing the greatest impact, though they are just three of a slew of states reporting outbreaks.

Besides Nevada, there are a number of states considering revoking their cage-free egg bans, including Colorado. But Kate Greenberg, Colorado's commissioner of agriculture, warned that cage-free laws play an insignificant role in egg price. 

“You may have seen egg shelves bare or purchase limits or prices very high right now with eggs. That is high path avian influenza having an impact on the marketplace, that is not the cage-free egg law,” said Greenberg at the Jan. 8 Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, according to the Summit Daily. “These just happened to coincide at the same time.”