Cracking news for breakfast lovers everywhere: egg prices are soaring to new heights, leaving many wondering – how high will the shell-shocking prices go? As inflation scrambles the cost of this breakfast staple, it’s not just your wallet or your parent’s wallet feeling the heat – it’s a nationwide scramble for affordable eggs!
In January of 2025, egg prices across the U.S. shot up by over 15% compared to the month before – about five times the country’s overall inflation rate of 3%, according to Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday, March 12. Back in 2019, you could grab a dozen eggs for just $1.54, but by last year, that price had skyrocketed to $4.15 – a staggering 170% jump, as reported by CBS News’s price tracker. In February 2025, CBS also reported, that a dozen large eggs were $5.90 and in March 2025 the price was $4.90.
Mr. Szostak, the Economics teacher at Bernards High School said, “When prices go up due to a shortage, the shortage gets alleviated because people buy fewer eggs. So rising prices lower the consumption of eggs and other products containing eggs. This ensures that there are always eggs on the shelf (or at least most of the time).”
The real question is, how did this all happen? The Avian flu, or as many may call it bird flu, started in 1997 as there were outbreaks appearing in China and Hong Kong. Some may say that the bird flu either first started in Southern China or was a natural spread among wild birds that can infest domestic poultry and through humans in close contact with birds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 66 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the United States. The outbreak was particularly severe during the winter, as colder temperatures facilitated the transmission of the virus, while heat and sunlight typically reduced its viability on surfaces. It’s a highly contagious and fatal respiratory virus that affects other animals. Once the animals are infected, the virus quickly multiplies and spreads through airborne particles, droppings, droplets of saliva, and nasal discharge. As NBC News reported, on dairy farms, cows shed the virus through their mammary glands, therefore they are most likely infected through the milk and during milking. More than 166 million birds in the U.S. were affected and died from the bird flu at the peak of 2020. California has been hit hardest in recent months by an outbreak, prompting the state to declare a state of emergency to contain the spread.
Farmers are forced to kill large numbers of chickens, particularly those that lay eggs, to stop the virus from spreading. This sudden loss of egg-laying hens significantly reduced the overall supply of eggs. Since people still need and want eggs, even with fewer available, the basic rule of supply and demand kicks in, driving prices upward. The disruption caused by the disease also adds to the problem.
Farms have to deal with quarantines and extra safety measures, which can slow down or stop egg production. Additionally, farmers face extra costs for cleaning, disinfecting, and replacing their lost chickens, all of which contribute to the higher prices in stores. Veterinarians and scientists are starting to use vaccines to protect chickens from getting sick, reducing the need to kill them. We also need to improve farm cleanliness and safety measures, like keeping wild birds away, to prevent the virus from spreading. Quick testing and responses when bird flu is found are important to stop it fast.
So how can we fix this problem? Will the prices decrease over time? Will the Bird Flu worsen birds? Mr. Szostak said, “It’s hard to anticipate what will happen to future prices. The current shortage is mainly tied to the Avian Flu. I don’t know enough about the virus to say if it will subside; however, regardless it will take some time for supply to recover and prices to come down. The current price increases are tied to shortages, which occur when the quantity demanded exceeds the quantity supplied. Because the bird flu disrupted supply, a shortage was created and prices went up. For them to come back down, the shortage must be reduced.”
Scientists are now working to breed naturally stronger chickens by combining vaccines, better farm safety, fast responses, and stronger chickens, which can help keep more chickens healthy and laying eggs, so egg prices stay more stable.
