Getty Erin Napier and Ben Napier.
The stars of HGTV’s “Home Town,” Ben Napier and Erin Napier, have built a successful home restoration business, a local store in Laurel, Mississippi, and a growing media empire that includes their flagship TV show, spin-offs and specials, books and more.
The couple’s exact net worth is not known but a look at public records and their businesses sheds a light on how they’ve made their money. The Napiers debuted on HGTV in 2016 and their show has now hit five seasons, according to the show’s website.
Erin Napier, 36, and Ben Napier, 36, met when they were University of Mississippi students and have been married since 2008, according to HGTV. They have two daughters, Helen and Mae, according to their social media pages.
Ben Napier isn’t a contractor, but is an expert woodworker and carpenter, according to HGTV’s “Home Town” website. Erin Napier is an artist and graphic designer who has used those skills to create memorable decor in the historic homes the couple renovates, the HGTV site explains. Along with growing their own net worth, the Napiers have also passed on the wealth to their family and friends in Laurel, a city of about 18,000, over the years.
Here’s what you need to know about Ben Napier’s and Erin Napier’s net worth and how they’ve made their money:
1. Ben & Erin Napier Have a Successful Home Restoration Business & Own the Laurel Mercantile Co. in Mississippi, Along With Other LLCs
Ben and Erin Napier have created several businesses in Laurel. According to HGTV, they’ve renovated more than 80 homes in the area and elsewhere. Mississippi public records show they own multiple businesses, including Lucky Luxe LLC, Napier Woodworks LLC and Scotsman Co. LLC.
The couple owns Laurel Mercantile Co. with friends and family members. According to the store’s website, “In 2016 a partnership was formed between the Napiers, Nowells and Rasberrys, 3 couples made up of family and long-time best friends. They used their combined expertise in history, design, historic preservation, organizational management, finance and accounting to reopen Laurel’s bygone hometown store. The doors of the new Laurel Mercantile Co. opened on Front Street in December 2016, not long after HGTV’s Home Town began filming Season 2.”
According to the website, “LMCo. is the only place to find the brand’s signature collection of American-made heirloom wares and durable goods for home and life, and LMCo.’s flagship label, Scotsman Co., featuring Ben’s handmade woodworkings and gentlemen’s workwear.”
Erin Napier’s mother, Karen Rasberry, is an author and local realtor in Laurel. Her father, Phil Rasberry, is a physical therapist. Property records show that Erin Napier’s parents own the building the Laurel Mercantile Co. is based in the Mississippi. The property also includes the headquarters for Scotsman Co. and Ben’s Woodshop.
In January 2022, they launched Scotsman Manufacturing in Laurel, creating 85 jobs in the community, Heavy reported at the time. They also celebrated five years of the Laurel Mercantile Co., in December 2021, with Erin Napier writing on Instagram, “In 2016 we adopted the name for our shop of vintage goods and heirloom American made wares, and there were only 3 little babies between our 3 families. We had a handful of part time employees, and I spent many late nights trying to figure out our point of sale and inventory software before opening day. Now our three families have 8 kids between us, 75 employees, soon to be closer to 100.”
2. ‘Home Town’ Has Led to 2 Spin-Off Series on HGTV for the Napiers & Their Profile on the Network Continues to Grow
“Home Town” has aired for five seasons on HGTV. It’s not clear how much the Napiers are paid for the show. Business Insider reported in 2019 that another well-known couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines, were paid $30,000 per episode by HGTV for “Fixer Upper.”
Along with the main show, Ben and Erin Napier have also starred in spin-offs and specials on HGTV and Discovery+, including “Home Town: Ben’s Workshop,” “Home Town Takeover,” “Home Town Takeover: Where Are They Now” and “Home Town Kickstart.”
The couple is set to make their acting debuts in HGTV’s first foray into scripted programming this December. HGTV announced the Napiers will be part of “A Christmas Open House.” The movie will air on Discovery+.
3. The Couple Wrote a Memoir Together & Erin Napier Published a Children’s Book & They Also Make Money From Speaking Appearences
Books are another source of income for the Napiers. The couple published a memoir together, “Make Something Good Today,” in 2018. The illustrated edition of the book was published by Gallery Books in October 2018.
According to their publisher, “Make Something Good Today offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the struggles and triumphs of a couple that America has come to know and love for their easy humor, adoring relationship, and ability to utterly transform a place into something beautiful and personal. This is the poignant story of how Erin and Ben took a small, tight-knit town into their own hands (literally) and used ingenuity, community, and authenticity to rebuild a once-thriving American Main Street. And how, by combining Ben’s carpentry skills with Erin’s design eye, Home Town is making it clear to us all that small-town living can feel as big as you make it.”
Erin Napier wrote her first children’s book, “The Lantern House,” which was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in May 2022. Artist and illustrator Adam Trest co-authored the book.
According to the publisher, “Imagine a house’s early days as a home: A young family builds a picket fence and plants flowers in its yard, children climb the magnolia tree and play the piano in the living room, and there is music inside the house for many happy years. But what will happen when its windows grow dark, its paint starts to crumble, and its boards creak in the winter wind? The house dreams of a family who will love it again…and one day, a new story will emerge from within its walls.”
Erin and Ben Napier also make money through speaking engagements, according to the Harry Walker Agency. The speaker’s bureau says on its website, “In sought-after events, Erin and Ben share their support for American craftsmanship, small business, and commitment to thriving local economies that demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity by working together.”
4. The Napiers Own a Home in Laurel’s Historic District That They Bought in 2011
Erin and Ben Napier moved to Erin’s hometown of Laurel after they finished college. In 2011, the couple bought their first home in the Mississippi city and they have lived there ever since. The house was purchased for $145,000. The home is now valued at more than $280,000, according to property records.
The craftsman house was built in 1925 and Erin Napier dreamed of living there when she was a child, according to Country Living. She said that she was talking to the previous owner about how much she loved the house.
“Not two weeks later, Mrs. Mary Lyn’s daughter called to ask if we would seriously like to buy it because she’s tired of keeping up a yard and is thinking of moving into a condo where she won’t have to worry about a thing,” Erin Napier told Country Living in 2017.
5. The Couple Also Own a Vacation Home in the Country in Mississippi
Ben and Erin Napier also bought a country house in Mississippi to be their vacation home. Details of exactly where the house is located are not clear. They revealed they bought the house in 2021 and Erin Napier has been providing construction updates on Instagram. They plan to fully reveal the renovation on the next season of “Home Town.” The value of their second home was not immediately known.
Erin Napier told Heavy in March 2022 it will be a “little getaway house out in the country.” Ben Napier added, “We call it a vacation house because we never leave Laurel, and so it’s our, this is our vacation house.”
Erin Napier told People they don’t plan on making a permanent move. “I can never not live in that house. I love it forever,” she said about their Laurel home. “But we were feeling it during quarantine. We have this tiny little yard in town for the girls to play in, but we grew up in the country, climbing trees and staying outside and not coming home until we were absolutely filthy at the end of the day. And we want that for the girls.”