Egg and Chicken Prices Since 1980: Yolk’s on Us

Since 1980, chicken prices have mostly tracked with general inflation, but eggs? They’ve scrambled all expectations. This chart shows egg and chicken prices, normalized to 1980 levels and plotted on a logarithmic scale to reflect relative changes. While chicken prices outpaced eggs through the 1980s and 1990s, the roles reversed in recent years. The spike in egg prices isn’t just breakfast drama, it reflects real economic shocks like avian flu outbreaks, supply chain disruptions, and changing demand.