Selling chicken eggs can be a fun and rewarding side hustle As a small poultry farmer, you get to work outdoors, care for animals, and make some extra income But before gathering your first eggs, an important question arises – how much should you charge customers? What price will allow you to profit while remaining competitive in your area?
I’ve raised chickens and sold eggs for over 5 years now. Through trial and error, I’ve learned what goes into smart egg pricing In this complete guide, I’ll share everything I know so you can set fair rates from the start Let’s begin!
Factors That Impact Egg Prices
Many variables influence the optimal price for your eggs. Here are some of the most important:
Location
Urban and suburban areas tend to offer higher prices due to greater demand. Rural spots may have lower rates but less competition. Research prices at nearby farms, stands, and markets.
Egg Quality
Buyers pay more for large, uniform eggs with bright orange yolks. Maintaining excellent nutrition, cleanliness, and collection practices enhances quality
Production Method
Pasture-raised and organic eggs fetch higher prices. Ensure your operation accurately matches the terms you use.
Breed
Some breeds, like Ameraucana, lay colorful eggs that sell for a premium. Heritage breeds are also popular.
Market Trends
When egg prices rise in stores, you can raise yours a bit. Likewise, lower them during holidays when demand spikes.
Competition
Scope out other sellers at farmers markets, on Facebook, etc. Consider slightly undercutting their prices if there’s room in the market.
Packaging & Branding
Attractive cartons and branding justify a higher price. Clear labeling and communication also help.
As you can see, many moving pieces impact ideal pricing. Next, let’s look at common price ranges.
What’s the Average Price for Chicken Eggs?
Across the United States, backyard chicken eggs typically sell for $3 to $6 per dozen. However, specialty options like pasture-raised and organic can fetch $6 to $10 per dozen in some markets.
For example, a recent survey by the USDA found conventional eggs averaging $3.25 per dozen, while pastured and organic averaged $4.50 and $5.15 respectively.
Of course, your specific market conditions trump national averages. Some urban areas support prices of $8 or more per dozen for premium eggs. Do your homework to determine customer demand and competitive landscape in your location.
Below this article, I’ve included some helpful pricing guides from other small egg farmers like myself. Definitely give them a read as well!
Factoring In Your Production Costs
To price eggs profitably, you need to know your costs. Consider all the elements that go into producing eggs:
- Chicken purchase/care
- Coop setup and maintenance
- Feed
- Supplements/healthcare
- Bedding
- Egg cartons and labels
- Cleaning supplies
- Utilities like water and electricity
- Labor for daily chores
- Transportation to markets
- Marketing expenses
- Permitting/licensing fees
Don’t forget “hidden” costs like repairing damage from predators. It adds up fast!
I track every egg-related expense in a spreadsheet. Then I divide total costs by dozens produced to find my cost per dozen.
Next I determine the minimum profit I want to earn – for me it’s $2 per dozen. Then I add my cost per dozen and minimum profit together to set pricing.
Of course, this needs regular adjustment as expenses and production volumes fluctuate. But it prevents me from losing money or undervaluing my time.
Which Sales Venue Earns The Most?
You can sell eggs through several channels, each with pros and cons:
Farm stands – Easy to set up on your property but relies on customer traffic.
Farmers markets – Good exposure but requires manning a booth each week.
Facebook/Craigslist – Free to advertise but irregular demand and time spent meeting buyers.
CSA & delivery – Efficient but requires packaging/delivery costs.
Wholesale – Reliable volume but lower profits.
In my experience, farmers markets and farm stands achieve the highest prices, averaging $5-8 per dozen. But they also involve the most time commitment. Wholesale to stores or restaurants has steadier demand but 15-25% lower earnings.
Consider your goals, location, and willingness to market when choosing sales channels. Diversification also helps minimize risk.
Pricing Specialty Chicken Eggs
Let’s discuss how to price some specific specialty eggs:
Organic
Certified organic eggs must come from hens fed 100% organic feed, along with organic health management and access to outdoors. This typically costs 25-50% more than conventional production.
Price organic eggs $6-10 per dozen based on your local market.
Pasture Raised
True pasture raising means hens graze on fresh pasture most of the year, resulting in great nutrition. Since this requires more land and labor, price at a premium – $7-12 per dozen.
Free Range
While requirements vary between farms, free range generally indicates hens aren’t confined and have some outdoor access. Price similarly to organic eggs, at $5-8 per dozen.
Non-GMO
To label eggs GMO-free, hens cannot consume genetically modified grains like corn or soy. Price $0.50-2 higher than conventional eggs.
Colorful Eggs
Some chicken breeds lay blue, green, or chocolate-brown eggs. Their uniqueness lets you charge a couple dollars more per dozen.
As you can see, niche production methods justify higher pricing. Just be sure your practices truly align with the terms you use!
Should I Charge Different Prices by Egg Size?
It’s common to see price variation between small, medium, large, extra large, and jumbo eggs. In my experience, charging by size works well at farmers markets where customers select their own cartons.
Here’s a size pricing system I’ve used with success:
- Jumbo: $4/dozen
- Extra Large: $3.75/dozen
- Large: $3.50/dozen
- Medium: $3.25/dozen
- Small: $3/dozen
The difference between my cheapest small eggs and premium jumbos is 25%. This rewards customers who prefer giant eggs while still moving smaller ones.
However, size-based pricing can backfire. I’ve found some buyers dislike the “nickel-and-diming” and will take their business elsewhere. Others try picking through cartons for only jumbo eggs.
If it’s creating issues at your stand or market, stick to a single price. Absorb the minor costs of size variations as a cost of business.
Can You Make a Full-Time Income Selling Eggs?
While selling backyard eggs can certainly generate nice side income, turning it into a full-time job is difficult.
The math just doesn’t work well: even at $6/dozen, selling 150 dozen eggs a week (a huge volume for a small farm) would only gross $9,000 per month. After expenses, that might yield $5,000 in pre-tax income. Difficult to live on, especially with the required labor and time commitment!
Most small poultry farmers rely on eggs as a profitable part-time venture or retirement supplement, rather than a way to replace a full salary.
If interested in full-time farming, explore high-value niche products, agritourism, courses, or producer cooperatives. Eggs alone won’t cut it!
Key Takeaways
Raising backyard chickens and selling their eggs can be immensely satisfying. And with proper pricing based on your costs and local market conditions, it can also provide nice side income.
When first starting out, research other sellers and aim slightly below the average going rate. This gets eggs moving and establishes customer relationships. You can increase prices over time as you build your reputation for quality.
Remember production expenses vary greatly by region and farm practices. Track yours closely so pricing always covers costs and generates profit. And think creatively about reducing costs like feed and supplementation.
Good luck and happy egg selling!
Related Resources:
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.
As of June 11, the virus has affected nearly 131 million commercial egg-laying hens in the U.S. since February 2022, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. That includes just the layers that were actively producing eggs.
Another 7.2 million pullets have been culled over the years. Those are the young birds destined to replace today’s egg layers once they’ve reached maturity. Those losses are significant because of what it means for an egg producer’s ability to recover from an outbreak.
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.
Second, the tight supply of eggs has led grocery stores to change the way they price eggs altogether. Previously, it was common for retailers to keep egg prices low — sometimes even pricing them below what the store paid for them wholesale — because eggs effectively draw shoppers into the store. They’d come for cheap eggs and leave with a cart full of groceries.
But now, pricing eggs too low could mean selling out, which would increase the chances that shoppers encounter empty shelves and abandon their carts. Retailers will keep prices at levels that help them avoid that situation as much as possible.
In 2025, seven states — California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — have laws in place that ban the production and sale of conventional eggs for animal welfare reasons. National retailers like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have made similar commitments.
When many of those states experienced major outbreaks of bird flu in 2024, the price spikes and supply shortages were intense. At the time, bird flu was having a disproportionate impact on cage-free egg layers. About a third of U.S. egg layers are cage-free hens, but they contributed nearly 60% of all bird flu cases for the year.
Not only does that mean the supply of cage-free eggs was down everywhere — which, as explained above, leads to higher prices — but it also had implications for how quickly supplies could recover, which were unique to cage-free eggs.
Already there are fewer sources for cage-free eggs. On top of that, in places where cage-free egg rules are in place, it can be tricky for retailers to find new suppliers that comply with whatever regulations the stores are required to follow.
As a result, grocery shoppers living in states or shopping in stores that restrict the sale of conventional eggs were especially likely to face higher prices, quantity restrictions and temporary egg shortages.
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into large egg producers’ pricing practices, the Wall Street Journal reported March 7. The DOJ will be looking into whether these producers conspired to set high prices or limit the supply of eggs.
As egg prices reached new heights at the beginning of 2025, long-simmering concerns about corporations’ role in setting prices grew louder. Advocacy groups and members of Congress publicly called on the new administration to investigate food companies for high prices, citing a significant jump in profits reported in January by Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the U.S.
At the time the company’s earnings were released, Cal-Maine’s CEO said the bump was because of elevated prices. “Translation: the egg company and its shareholders are making higher profits while Americans shell out more for grocery staples,” states a Jan. 26 letter addressed to Trump from a group of Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Representatives for the egg industry have continually pushed back on claims that egg companies can control prices.
Emily Metz, CEO of the American Egg Board, told PBS News, “I cant speak to why the Justice Department is doing what theyre doing, but I can speak to the facts, and the facts are very simple. The price of eggs are set on the commodity market.”
Egg prices still 45% higher than a year ago
The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $4.55 in May, down from $5.12 in April and $6.23 in March, according to data from the BLS, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ FRED site.
The latest consumer price index, or CPI, shows the price index of eggs is down 2.7% from a month ago but it’s still 41.5% higher than May 2024. That’s in contrast to the trajectory of food prices overall, which 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).
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 since March 2016. Then, 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.
I’VE RUN MY EGG BUSINESS FOR 4 YEARS. HERE ARE THE TRUE NUMBERS
FAQ
How much should 12 eggs cost?
What Is the Average Cost of a Dozen Eggs Today? On average, Americans are paying $4.95 for a dozen Grade A large eggs, based on the BLS data. That price reflects the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) data available as of January 2025.
How much do farmers get paid for chicken eggs?
Pricing can significantly vary, but based on our research the rule of thumb is that fertilized eggs sell for between $1 and $3 an egg. For example: 1 Leghorn Chicken that lays 300 eggs a year, and your family eats 0 eggs. Then you could sell 25 dozen eggs a year.
Why are eggs $7 now?
Blame it on inflation and bird flu. The average cost for a dozen eggs right now is anywhere from $7 to $9, but that can vary widely depending on where you live. With soaring prices and many varieties of eggs, you want to make sure you’re getting what you think you’re paying for.
What is the going rate for farm fresh eggs?
| Year | Price Range (USD/dozen) | Key Cause |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $4.50 – $6.00 | Increased seasonal demand |
| 2019 | $4.50 – $6.00 | Stable market dynamics |
| 2020 | $5.00 – $6.50 | COVID-19 pandemic impacts |
| 2021 | $5.50 – $7.00 | Rising feed costs and supply chain issues |
How much does it cost to sell eggs?
You should plan to charge between $5 and $8 per dozen eggs. When pricing your eggs, you should consider the number of eggs you need to sell, the cost to feed and raise your chickens, whether or not your eggs are organic, farmer’s market fees, packaging, transportation, and your desired profit.
Can you sell chicken eggs at a farmer’s market?
Selling backyard chicken eggs can be a great way to cover the cost of your feed. You now know how to sell chicken eggs from farmers’ markets to roadside stands. An average fifty-pound feed bag costs $15 here and will last thirty hens for around two weeks.
Can you become a millionaire selling chicken eggs?
It’s unlikely you will become a millionaire when you sell backyard chicken eggs. However, you should be able to generate a small income that can at least cover feed costs. A basic primer on how to sell chicken eggs, whether you have a small amount every week or if you have a more significant amount for a Farmer’s Market.
How much do duck eggs cost?
In short, you can reasonably charge between $8 and $12 per dozen duck eggs. Since duck eggs are larger, less available, and have a higher nutritional value than chicken eggs, many people are willing to pay a premium.
Do you need a license to sell eggs?
In particular, if you plan to sell your eggs commercially (i.e., to a grocery store) or outside the location where you raise your chickens (like a farmer’s market), you will need to obtain a license. In some states, you may even need to have your chicken coop inspected by the USDA before you can start selling your eggs.
Where can I sell eggs if I have more eggs?
But, if you have more eggs to sell, you will need to start looking further afield. Check around your area to see where you may be able to sell. Campgrounds, local farm stores, and farmer’s markets are good places to start your sales pitch. If you sell beyond the ‘farm gate,’ you will generally need a license.