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Updated Feb.13.
Retail egg prices continued to fall in January, according to the latest consumer price index. Prices are now down 34.2% from a year ago — and are almost 59% below their record peak in March 2025.
Egg prices have climbed down steadily from their historic highs of early 2025. Those spikes in late 2024 and early 2025 were driven by a virulent strain of avian flu that was devastating flocks nationwide.
The threat remains but outbreaks have declined since then. To date in 2026, 3.7 million birds have been culled in flocks after outbreaks in Colorado and Pennsylvania, according to the latest market summary from the Agriculture Department.
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In recent years, farmers have battled a fatal strain of bird flu that has persistently disrupted the U.S. egg supply. Large-scale outbreaks of the virus across multiple states from October to February took a massive toll on the U.S. flock of egg-laying hens. With limited supplies, shoppers at the time encountered skyrocketing prices, buying restrictions, empty store shelves and restaurant surcharges on eggs.
Egg prices now sharply lower than a year ago
The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $2.58 in January, down from $2.71 in December and less than half of the $6.23 recorded at their peak in March, according to data from the BLS, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ FRED site.
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The latest consumer price index, or CPI, shows the price index of eggs is down 7.0% from a month ago and down 34.2% from January 2025. Food prices overall rose 2.9% in the past year.
Avian flu remains a threat, and tariffs could impact prices as well, now that the U.S. has ramped up imports of shell eggs and other egg products (such as liquid eggs and dried eggs).
» MORE: Will prices ever go down?
BLS data tracking egg prices goes back to at least 1980, when large, Grade A eggs cost $0.88 a dozen, not adjusted for inflation. Before February 2022, the average cost of a dozen had largely stayed below $2. The price of eggs more than doubled from the beginning of 2022 until hitting a peak of $4.82 per dozen in January 2023. Prices largely fell until September 2023 before returning to a steady climb. A new price record was set in March 2025 at $6.23 per dozen.
Why are eggs so expensive?
Egg prices have repeatedly hit record highs because of H5N1, a highly transmissible and fatal strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, that has devastated flocks of egg-laying hens.
Outbreaks started in early 2022 and quickly grew into the largest bird flu outbreak in U.S. history. When an outbreak occurs, egg producers are forced to cull their flocks, per USDA policy, which impacts the supply of eggs headed for grocery stores.
Generally, as the number of egg-layers shrinks, egg supplies tighten and egg prices rise. That’s for at least two reasons: First, consumer demand for eggs has held steady despite persistently high prices. The mismatch between supply and demand tends to drive prices up.
While cases are well off their peak, bird flu remains a threat.
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