Egg Prices Have Plummeted: What You Need to Know in April 2026

After a brutal 2025 that saw egg prices soar past $6 per dozen, American shoppers are finally catching a break. Retail egg prices have fallen to around $2.50 per dozen, a drop of more than 40% compared to a year ago, making eggs one of the most affordable protein options at the grocery store once again. Track current egg prices on our Egg Prices page with live USDA data updated monthly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics typically publishes the previous month’s price data around the 10th to 13th of the following month, and our charts update automatically once the new figures are available through the FRED API.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

What’s Behind the Price Drop?

The answer comes down to one word: supply. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks that devastated egg-laying flocks throughout 2025 have eased significantly in 2026. According to Agri-Pulse, HPAI cases are down roughly 45% year over year in early 2026. Fewer birds lost means more hens on farms laying eggs, and that translates directly to lower prices at the register. Hatcheries also got ahead of the problem. Producers increased pullet production in late 2025, anticipating another difficult spring flu season. Those replacement birds entered the laying system in early 2026, building a buffer that kept supplies stable even as some new outbreaks occurred in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. The result on the wholesale side has been even more dramatic. Wholesale egg prices plunged from over $8 per dozen last winter to below $1 earlier this year before ticking back up slightly ahead of Easter demand.

What Caused Historic Egg Prices in 2022-2025?

In brief, the egg price increases were due to general inflation, the avian flu, and the Department of Agriculture’s orders for mass herd culling. The recent outbreak of avian influenza has been one of the largest on record in the United States. All 50 states have reported cases during the 2022 to 2025 wave, with more than 90 to 100 million poultry birds affected and culled. Thousands of commercial and backyard flocks have been impacted, including major egg-producing operations. The virus has also been found in wild birds across the country, which makes it difficult to fully contain and allows it to keep reappearing. If the ongoing outbreaks have you thinking about producing your own eggs, we broke down the full cost of raising chickens at home. This outbreak is part of a broader global spread that has affected regions across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. The scale has been driven by transmission through migratory birds, environmental persistence of the virus, and the high density of modern poultry farms. The result has been a significant disruption to egg production, since replacing large numbers of laying hens takes time. The USDA’s Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook for March 2026 provides a detailed look at how the industry has recovered from those losses.

Good News for Shoppers, Tough News for Farmers

While consumers are celebrating, the math looks very different on the farm. Wholesale prices have dropped so far that many producers are operating near or below their cost of production. As NPR reported, the wholesale price that farmers receive has fallen to around 70 cents a dozen, likely below what it costs to produce. Feed costs have come down somewhat, but expenses like labor, biosecurity measures, and energy continue to climb. Egg farmers are also reluctant to reduce flock sizes. The unpredictable nature of avian flu means they need to maintain capacity in case another major outbreak hits. That uncertainty keeps the market in a delicate balance.

The Bigger Grocery Picture

Eggs may be cheaper, but not everything in the grocery aisle is following suit. Beef prices remain elevated, up more than 14% year over year, with the national cattle herd at its smallest level since the 1960s. The USDA’s Food Price Outlook projects overall food-at-home prices to rise about 3.1% in 2026, with beef, fresh vegetables, and sugar leading the increases. You can track how all of these categories are moving on our live meat prices dashboard. In other words, the savings you are seeing on eggs are being partially offset elsewhere in your cart.

What Comes Next?

The USDA is projecting egg prices to decline about 27% overall in 2026 compared to 2025. However, that forecast carries a wide range of uncertainty. Another significant avian flu outbreak could tighten supply and push prices back up quickly. For now, though, the outlook is favorable. U.S. egg production is on track to exceed 2025 levels, cage-free production continues to expand rapidly, and biosecurity practices across the industry have improved. A USDA production report showed January 2026 output reached 9.196 billion eggs, up 2% from a year earlier.

Check Live Egg Prices

Want to see exactly where egg prices stand right now? Visit our Egg Prices page for the latest national average, regional comparisons across the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, and interactive price charts showing how prices have moved over the past year.

Price data unavailable.

If you are looking to stretch your grocery budget further, eggs at $2.50 a dozen are hard to beat for versatile, high-quality protein. Stock up while the prices are low.