SoCal at Aldi

California in particular has higher prices than most of the US because California has minimum cage size mandates, so can’t just sell eggs pulled from the broader pool of US eggs. There’s still a shortage in the broader US, but it’s not as bad as in California.

There’s a limited amount that any one retailer can do about that.

That also apparently passed as a constitutional amendment to California’s constitution, via a referendum from voters, so I don’t think that even California’s legislature could do much about it — they’d have to send another proposition to amend the state constitution to the voter, or get a two-thirds supermajority in both houses.

I’d add that I’m not a huge fan of California’s heavy use of the initiative and referendum, which has led to a lot of the laws that I don’t think are a fantastic idea in California — I think that legislators typically do a better job of evaluating laws than voters giving a quick skim of a law’s title.

It looks like the restrictions only apply to retailers. So in theory, if you wanted to take a trip across state lines to Nevada or Arizona with some coolers and ice, you could legally pick up all the eggs you can use and bring them back to Southern California. Maybe do one bulk trip for friends and family too, doubt that that violates the law either.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumers/2025/02/12/egg-prices-arizona-compare/78416333007/

Arizona consumers have seen the price of eggs increase over the past weeks as the bird flu outbreak continues.

However, Arizonans are actually paying less for a dozen eggs than consumers in states like California, Florida and Texas.

Arizona:

Fry’s/Kroger

• Eggland’s Best Cage Free Large White Eggs: $4.39

• Eggland’s Best Cage Free Extra Large White Eggs: $4.79

Santa Clara, California

Walmart

• Egglands Best Grade A Cage Free Large Brown Eggs: $9.26

• Egglands Best Grade A Cage Free Large White Eggs: $9.20