For a while, everything was coming up roses for Josh Duggar. He was on a TV show, he was heading up a lobbying group, and he had political aspirations. But then, Josh was involved in several scandals that took a big hit to his likability. The family's series 19 Kids and Counting got canceled, Josh quit his job, and his political career stopped dead in its tracks.
Josh has recovered in the years since, and his wife, Anna, stood staunchly by his side. Now Josh and Anna Duggar have a net worth of around $200,000 — which is not too shabby for an ex-reality star. There are a lot of ways he's made that money over the years, including the new field of work he got into after leaving his old gigs behind.
As for Anna, she was probably making money from being on the show Counting On for so many seasons, but for the most part, Josh is the family's breadwinner. Anna is plenty busy just raising their six children — whose names all start with the same letter, of course. (Only Anna and Josh chose "M" for their kids, versus "J" like Josh's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.)
Anna most recently gave birth to Maryella Hope in late 2019, and she was overjoyed to share the good news. "Maryella Hope arrived one day ahead of Thanksgiving Day 2019 and a great reminder to be grateful for all God has done for us!" Anna wrote on Instagram. "We are so excited and thankful to God for His special blessing giving us this precious, happy & healthy baby girl!"
That's Anna's focus these days: her family. The money is secondary to that, but in case anyone is curious, here's how Anna and Josh built their modest fortune.
Compared to Mom & Dad, Josh's Net Worth Is Small
Most of Josh's siblings are worth more than him, but his parents take the cake when it comes to net worth. Jim Bob and Michelle are reportedly worth $3.5 million, thanks to their money from reality TV, real estate, speaking engagements, and book deals. We guess if Josh was ever in any trouble financially, his parents may be able to help.
Reality TV Money
E! News reported that it's likely the Duggar family, as a whole, was probably making about $25,000 to $40,000 per episode on the 19 Kids and Counting show. Both Josh and Anna were in over 100 episodes of the show, but there were 245 episodes total, which would have netted the family somewhere between $6 and $10 million from the time the show started in 2008 until its end in 2015.
Season Regulars
Even if Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar split the money from the eight seasons evenly between the 21 Duggars and their various spouses, Josh and Anna probably each made off with over $100,000 from their 100-plus episodes on the show — if not more because they were more central characters than some of the younger Duggar siblings.
Participating in Specials
Being one of the most established couples in the Duggar family led to some special episodes focused on Josh and Anna. This includes A Very Duggar Wedding — which featured Josh and Anna's nuptials — and First Grandson, about the birth of their first son. It's possible that the specials may have paid more than a regular episode, so Josh and Anna could have made close to five figures with each of the specials.
Josh Was an Executive Director at FRC Action
Filming 19 Kids and Counting wasn't Josh's full-time job back in the day. From 2013 until 2015, he was the executive director at a lobbying PAC (political action committee) for the Family Research Council, per the Washington Post. The average salary for a PAC executive director is reportedly $61,000, but that number can reach the hundreds of thousands, depending on the company. The Washington Post reported that the FRC Action budget was $13 million, so Josh was probably making quite a bit.
Working on Presidential Campaigns
According to the New York Times, Josh also worked on former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign and former Sen. Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign. He could have made around $36,000 during his time on the campaigns — or more because he was such a high-profile person to have in the office.
Working at a Used Car Dealership
In 2015, outlets reported that Josh had left political work behind in the wake of his various scandals coming to light. He began working at his family's used car business in Arkansas. In 2016, he was still at it, with a source telling People magazine that Josh was spending most of his time at his parents' house and the Duggar family garage when not working.
Expanding the Dealership?
News outlets also reported that the car business was going so well for Josh that he was planning to expand to a new location — and in 2018, he got approved for zoning upgrades to the dealership. Car dealerships can make, on average, about $463,000 in profit per year. That's certainly enough for Josh to live on.
Selling Their House
In 2019, Josh and Anna put their Arkansas farmhouse up for sale and ended up dropping the price by $10,000 to $289,000 when it wasn't initially selling. The house's listing shows it eventually sold in February for $318,000 — although it's unclear if the Duggars had already sold it to someone who then turned around and flipped it for more or if the Duggars got $318,000 out of the deal.
Losing Out on 'Counting On' Money
Josh's scandals coming to light eventually led to the cancelation of 19 Kids and Counting, which was later reimagined as Counting On … without Josh and Anna's participation. If Counting On pulls in the same kind of money per episode that the original show did, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars that Josh and Anna have missed out on.
Lots of Mouths To Feed
There may come a day when Josh needs that monetary help, because he's got quite a brood of his own. He and Anna are parents to six kids, all younger than 10. That's a lot of mouths to feed and clothes to buy and college educations to potentially plan for. Good thing Josh's car dealership is expanding, huh?
Anna Doing Instagram Ads
Anna recently plugged the family-friendly video series Life at the Pond on her Instagram. She didn't explicitly say that it was an ad, but because she gave her followers a discount code, there was probably some sort of brand deal in place. Maybe she just got free access to the videos, or maybe she got paid. With almost a million followers, Anna could do well in the sponsored content game. Instagram users can make thousands of dollars for posting a single sponsored post.
Selling Their Daughter's Album
Josh and Anna's oldest daughter, Mackynzie, joined four of her Duggar aunts to make an album of their music. The album costs $10 to $15, depending on whether buyers want the digital download or a physical CD. Hopefully, Josh and Anna are setting some of Mackynzie's profits aside for her to use one day, but if her parents are taking a cut, that will be adding to their net worth as well.
Anna Could Bring Back Her Personal YouTube Channel
Like Instagram, YouTube is a big moneymaker these days. People with successful channels not only make cash through brand deals but also through allowing ads on their videos. Successful vloggers can make thousands of dollars per video. Unlike many of the Duggars, Anna doesn't have a YouTube channel, but she recently revealed on Instagram that she used to have one. Anna said she hasn't posted anything to it in years, but she may want to consider doing so for the extra cash flow.
Content To Stay Out of the Spotlight Right Now
In the meantime, Josh and Anna seem pretty content staying out of the spotlight. They're raising their six kids, Josh is working at the dealership, and Anna posts to Instagram (mostly just about her children). Josh doesn't have any social media at all. After so many years in the public eye and Josh's fall from grace, they're probably welcoming the break from the scrutiny — even if it means they're making a little (OK, a lot) less money.
