Welcome to an economy where consumers would rather buy their own chickens than hunt for reasonable egg prices at their local grocery store.
Now that may be an exaggeration for some, but one thing’s for certain: Americans should expect to see even higher egg prices this year, due to inflation and the ongoing avian influenza — known by its common name as bird flu.
In fact, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show these prices increasing about 20% in 2025 while the average cost of a dozen Grade A eggs has risen from $3.30 in October to $4.15 in December, a 25% uptick in just the span of two months.
Egg prices are at an all-time high and are expected to rise even more in 2025
Image credits: Олег Мороз / Unsplash
“Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re in this for a while,” stated Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, according to CNN. “Until we have time without a detection, unfortunately this very, very tight supply is going to continue.”
And it’s no surprise that Americans aren’t thrilled with this information.
“Funny how something so basic can suddenly feel like a luxury,” someone commented on Reddit as another mentioned, “We used to throw eggs and toilet paper at houses on Halloween. I never knew we were rich.”
“My 3 hens are happily producing 2 eggs between them a day (and its [sic] winter),” one person noted. “Paying for themselves 10 times over, especially these days. Will be adding more to the flock in Spring, actual chickens cost less than eggs these days.”
Image credits: snow_fun
“Why are people buying eggs, it’s so much easier and cheaper to buy a few hens and produce ur own eggs, literally penny’s [sic] on the dollar!!!” one user said.
Others emphasized how anything with eggs was practically “a gourmet dish” nowadays — a strange phenomenon given how cheap chicken meat still remains.
But prices aren’t this absurd for everyone.
“I don’t know where the hell everybody’s buying their egg, but mine aren’t that expensive,” one person shared.
“Ummm I just bought eggs at $3.99. Where the heck are you buying your eggs?” another asked.
Another alternative people are suggesting? Just raise your own hens, at this point
Image credits: savannah.does.it.all
As per Parade, southern states tend to have lower egg prices in December 2024, with an average of $3.40 per dozen. On the other hand of the spectrum, California saw the highest numbers with a whopping $8.97 per dozen.
So why the egg-flation?
To put it simply, winter weather events, supply chain costs, and bird flu outbreaks in the US are major factors of the high prices, Patrick Penfield — a supply chain professor of practice at Syracuse University — told Bored Panda. In December, the added pressure of the holidays had an impact, as well.
A number of factors contribute to the growing egg prices
Image credits: gillen1991
“Almost every state in the US has been impacted by bird flu and the major issue with bird flu is if one hen in a flock is diagnosed with the avian influenza, per government regulations the entire flock must be put down,” he said.
In fact, “one farm in Colorado had to put down 1.78 million eggs laying hens. It takes about 5 months for a chicken farmer to replenish its flock and once a hen is five months old it can lay about one egg per day.”
The current bird flu outbreak has been a problem since 2022, affecting more than 135 million birds, which in turn means egg prices have been rising for three years now. And as Penfield stated, there is unfortunately no cure or vaccine yet that can immunize hens against the pandemic.
Among the states most affected are California, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio, said the USDA and already, approximately 8.3 million birds have died in January alone due to this outbreak.
Image credits: theeberberian
The disease has also been appearing in other animals, according to TODAY, such as cows, cats, skunks, and bears.
While avian flu viruses aren’t a huge concern for humans seeing that they don’t normally affect us, there have been a few cases of infection.
In 2025, dozens of people in 10 states have been impacted, and the virus has also spread to Canada. According to a release from the Louisiana Department of Health, a patient in Louisiana died earlier in January. They were suffering a severe case after coming in contact with non-commercial backyard flocks and wild birds.
Netizens hilariously react to the prices, writing comments as if eggs are a national treasure
