Egg prices soaring. It's nearly $9 at some Chicago grocers.

Egg prices are skyrocketing and it's pushed some Chicagoans to hunt for deals — at least for those who could find them.

Emily Easterling was looking for eggs on Wednesday night to go with the avocados, toast and bacon she was buying at Trader Joe’s in Lake View. But she found only empty shelves and a sign with an image of a chicken saying, “Sorry, we’re out of eggs! Please check back tomorrow.”

Easterling said she'll likely resort to buying frozen egg sandwiches for the time being. "I know they aren't as healthy but that appears to be my only option right now," she said.

The Sun-Times visited 14 stores in various neighborhoods from Big Oaks to Edgewater, Morgan Park to Midway, and Bucktown and Austin to see what consumers were paying. Only two retailers sold eggs below the national average of $3.65 per dozen — Food 4 Less and Trader Joe's.

The highest price was $8.99 a dozen for pasture-raised and/or organic eggs at Jewel-Osco, 1220 W. Ashland Ave., near the Medical District; Pete’s Fresh Market, 5838 S. Pulaski Road, in Gage Park; and the Jewel-Osco in River North, 550 N. State St.

The lowest price was at a Food 4 Less in Austin, 4821 W. North Ave., which was selling large Grade A eggs at $2.99 a dozen. Trader Joe's was among the stores offering a lower price with a dozen eggs costing $3.49 to $4.99. Save A Lot in South Shore, 7240 S. Stony Island Ave., had a dozen eggs for $4.09.

Why are eggs so expensive?

The reason, experts say, is largely because of bird flu, but increased labor and business costs are also a factor.

A Jan. 5 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service said grocery stores have seen "record-high prices" in retail markets across the nation, driven by "significant outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial table egg layer flocks through December.”

Egg prices overall are up 39.6% since last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. That translates to an average price of $3.65 a dozen in November 2024 versus $2.14 in November 2023, according to the bureau.

But shoppers can see price fluctuations depending on the type of eggs they purchase. For example, organic and pasture raised are generally more expensive.

And demand for eggs can be seasonal with a peak around the holidays, according to USDA AMA, which can put further pressure on tight supply.

Is there an egg shortage?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said as of Thursday, more than 133 million poultry birds have been affected by bird flu in the United States. That includes more than 40 million egg-laying hens, according to the American Egg Board.

That means consumers have to wait for healthy birds to grow so egg production increases and prices go down, according to Todd Applegate, poultry professor at the University of Georgia.

“From the time a parent bird lays the egg to the point that it can grow to a chicken that starts laying eggs is about 18 to 20 weeks. So we have this lag time of nearly half a year before that cycle completes itself. There’s just not enough birds out there laying eggs,” Applegate said.

Besides the Lake View Trader Joe's, the shelves at two other stores visited by the Sun-Times were nearly empty on Wednesday. The Whole Foods in Edgewater, 6009 N. Broadway, and a Target in Bucktown, 2653 N. Elston Ave., had only a few eggs left. Meanwhile, the Aldi's in Albany Park, 5001 N. Pulaski, limited customers to two dozen each.

Will other food items cost more?

If egg prices remain high, food economists believe it can increase the price of other items on grocery shelves in which eggs are a main ingredient, from mayonnaise to baked goods like cookies and cake. It's also believed that the higher price of eggs has already contributed to the increased costs of dining out.

Compared to other foods, egg prices have risen more. The only food categories that rose by double digits over the last year were frozen non-carbonated juices and drinks (18%); dried beans, peas and lentils (10%) and other condiments (10%), according to the BLS.

While the price of eggs has skyrocketed, the cost of chicken meat only increased 0.5% between November 2023 and November 2024.

Jada Thompson, a poultry economist for the University of Arkansas, said the reason is simple. Chickens used for egg production, called the layer industry, are different from the chickens people eat, known as the broiler industry.

“The layer industry comes mostly from birds in the Midwest and has been more affected by the bird flu. The broiler industry, chickens that we eat, is mostly located in the Southeast and has been a lot less affected by the bird flu,” Thompson said.

Will egg prices drop?

It's unclear if prices will decline, or remain steady, as it'll largely depend on how quickly farms and producers can recover their stock of laying hens. The latest poultry and eggs market outlook report from the USDA predicts "lower lay rates" for 2025.

The ongoing bird flu pandemic is also still a concern. Experts are hoping that cases of bird flu lessen in the spring, just as other viruses often do, and more chicks that hatched recently will soon grow enough to produce their own eggs to meet consumer demand and lower costs.

What can consumers do?

Buying in bulk can help ease costs. Kathy Gunn was buying 60 eggs for $26.99 at Mariano’s in Jefferson Park, 5353 N. Elston Ave.

“I have a family of four and paying $6.99 a dozen is just stupid,” Gunn said, peering at the prices for a dozen of Eggland’s Best Grade A eggs.

The Whole Foods in Edgewater was selling a pack of 18 eggs for $9.99, and a Jewel-Osco in River North, 550 N. State St., had 30 eggs for $14.99.

For consumers who live alone or have small families, buying in bulk may not be the best option as eggs last around two weeks without refrigeration and about three months or more in your refrigerator, according to Purina Mills, a large producer of eggs.

Purina said knowing the difference between the types of eggs may lead to a more informed decision.

Grade A eggs are the most common in stores and rank just below Grade AA, the highest-quality egg. The only real difference, according to Mother Earth News, is the interior quality of Grade A eggs are slightly lower, as their whites are not as firm.

Free-range eggs are often the most expensive. Those eggs come from birds that range freely on pasture or are housed in moveable pens that are rotated frequently to maximize access to fresh pasture and protect the birds from predators. But the term free-range can be misleading.

“This inadequate definition means that producers can, and do, label their eggs as ‘free-range’ even if all they do is leave little doors open on their giant sheds, regardless of whether the birds ever learn to go outside, and regardless of whether there is good pasture or just bare dirt or concrete outside those doors. True free-range eggs have less cholesterol and saturated fat, plus more vitamins A and E, beta carotene and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids,” Mother Earth News said. However, they're more expensive because of higher production costs.

As for brown or white eggs, many people assume brown eggs are healthier — and the prices for brown eggs are sometimes higher —but the eggs are nutritionally very similar, regardless of their size, grade or color, according to Healthline.