Ok, so I have been comparing egg prices for a couple years now. Here is the basics of it.
Don't even bother buying the cheap eggs. You get very little (if any) nutritional value out of them since they sit on shelves so long and are laid by abused chickens. You might as well save your money and spend it on something that will give you more vitamins and minerals. After all, any money spent on food should have a return value of nutritional and delicious.
That brings us to vegetarian, cage free, and organic labeled eggs. These are clumped together because often times they come from the same source but labeled differently. These are better eggs then the cheapest ones in the store. These eggs usually range from $3-5 dollars at a grocery store. In, my opinion they are not really worth it because the chickens are still crammed in a barn, hardly see day light and are fed mainly grains. The eggs still sit on the shelf for at least a couple weeks before we get them. If, I cannot get eggs from one of the many egg farmers around me then I will by these from a store at no more then $3/dozen.
The best eggs to buy at a store are pasture-raised eggs. However, these eggs tend to be $6-$8 and still sit on a shelf for at least a week. Why spend so much when you can get local eggs that are pasture-raised and even soy-free for less then $6/dozen?
Which egg came from Holiday's Farm?
To find local eggs check out Friending Farmers, sign up and start growing a local food community here in Phoenix.