Okay, listen. Ranking every single Animal Crossing villager is a nearly insurmountable task. Everyone has their own opinions, and comparing every single villager isn’t even the most useful idea short of knowing who’s the best of the best. Most villagers are going to fall into the mid to low ranks anyway! So, we had the idea not to make a tier list out of every New Horizons villager, but to make a tier list for each species. In fact, as of November 2, we’ve now done this twice. We’ve updated the entire tier list by re-ranking all of the original villagers and adding the six Sanrio and 16 Update 2.0 villagers.

This guide will help you answer the question: Who are the best Wolves to have? (You probably said Audie, didn’t you?) The idea is that it’s a lot easier to rank the animals only in comparison to others of their species. So, that’s what we’ve done. Hopefully, this helps you figure out which villagers you want to pursue!

It should be obvious, but this is an opinionated tier list. I don’t claim to be the one true voice of the entire Animal Crossing community. I’ve rated all of the villagers based on a combination of their appearance, home style, community popularity, and to a lesser extent, their catchphrase.

Here is a rough outline of what each tier means:

S-Tier: Super popular. Just about everyone wants them on their island.
A-Tier: A great villager. You should consider adding them to your island.
B-Tier: Above average. Has a few qualities that make them better than an average villager.
C-Tier: Average villager. They don’t really stand out.
D-Tier: Below average or awful. Some villagers in this tier are just okay. Others you’ll want to avoid like the plague lest you spend days trying to get them to leave.

Villagers inside each tier are sorted alphabetically (for the most part). For example, Del and Gayle are equal in ranking. I have not ranked Del ahead of Gayle.

Animal Crossing Alligator Tier List

Sadly, the alligators in Animal Crossing: New Horizons aren’t certain to grab your attention. They mostly fall into the lower ranks of tier lists like ours. Drago is unique in that he’s supposed to be a damn dragon, which is enough to get him to B-tier on our list. Del has swapped from the pirate life to join the robot gang. And Gayle has a fondness for pink that few other villagers can rival. The rest aren’t super noticeable though; even Alfonso can’t be saved by being a Mario reference.

That said, we’ve bumped Alli up and placed newcomer Roswell at the bottom of the pile. Sorry, bud!

Animal Crossing Anteater Tier List

Anteaters fall into a very similar bucket as the alligators do. Most are either entirely uninteresting or downright unpleasant. Snooty is the literal embodiment of the snooty personality and Cyrano goes around sneezing on you with every sentence. Anabelle is the lone standout since she looks like a pangolin and comes with an awesome starting shirt. Olaf is also notable since he has pants and sleeves, something few villagers have. The interesting fact here is that they remain if you change his shirt. Those clothes are apparently just part of his skin.

We’ve upgraded Antonio to B and placed Zoe among the best anteaters available.

Animal Crossing Bear Tier List

With the sheer number of bear villagers available, you’d think there would be more stellar choices. Megan is cute as it comes, but the rest of the bears are average at best. There’s also a whole lot of cranky folks here that you may want to avoid if that’s not your thing. We recommend Ursala as an underrated villager. Her sisterly personality is good and her house is seriously nice.

In the latest update, we’ve promoted Pinky (Disclaimer: She’s on my island and she’s the cutest) and Tutu to B-Tier and Teddy to C-Tier while demoting Ursala.

Animal Crossing Birds Tier List

Fans of Animal Crossing will already know that Jacques is the most popular of the birds. As a whole, birds are fine and good additions to your island.

In our update, we’ve evened out the spread of birds by promoting a few. Ace, the new bird, is currently C-Tier.

Animal Crossing Bulls Tier List

Bulls can be hit or miss depending on what you like. None of them are really cute, but Stu is at least colorful. He’s also one of the few villagers who has a modern outdoors setting inside of his house. He lives in an alleyway, which opens up some cool possibilities for gift ideas!

Animal Crossing Cat Tier List

Everybody likes cats, so it should come as no surprise as to how highly ranked many of these villagers are. Raymond has been the face of Animal Crossing since New Horizons came out, with some paying up to 15 million Bells to get their hands on him. Expect that to end now that he’s available as an Amiibo card, though. They’re all solid grabs, just please know that Ankha was S-Tier when we first released this list far before the Internet did what the Internet does.

The biggest change here is Lolly moving to S-Tier.

Animal Crossing Chicken Tier List

None of the chickens in New Horizons really stand out. They’re all average at best. Becky gets bonus points for a super classical house, which is hard to come by.

Animal Crossing Cow Tier List

You only have four options when it comes to cows. We recommend Naomi just because she’s the most colorful and has the most personality. Unfortunately, though, her house is full of antiques and is the opposite of her bright appearance.

Animal Crossing Cub Tier List

While there are always villagers that stand out in each species, Judy is unique in all of Animal Crossing. Her colors and eyes have made her one of the most in-demand villagers. Honestly, there are so many cute cubs to choose from that it’s hard to go wrong. Unless you go with Barold. Listen, if you opt for him, good for you. But he will not be invited to my island.

Some highlights: Maple is now S-Tier, Pekoe is A-Tier, and Marty has been placed in C-Tier.

Animal Crossing Deer Tier List

As a whole, Nintendo has done a great job with the deer in Animal Crossing. Not a single one is worse than the average. Pick whoever you want; it’s hard to go wrong!

No major changes here, but Shino debuts as an S-Tier villager. Chelsea has no such luck and is only average.

Animal Crossing Dog Tier List

Cats clearly beat dogs when it comes to Animal Crossing. There are some goodies here, but they rank lower as a whole. As a forewarning though: Lucky does live in a graveyard this time around.

Frett starts off as an average C-Tier villager.

Animal Crossing Duck Tier List

Someone send Ketchup to my island. Thanks.

As much as I want to deduct points from Bill and Drake for both having quacko as a catchphrase, I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Animal Crossing Eagle Tier List

Eagles are kind of underrated in the Animal Crossing community. Most of them are good additions, but few would consider them among their favorites. The good news? While there haven’t been any ranking changes, our new arrival Quinn is likely to be among the most popular additions. We’ve tentatively placed her in A-Tier.

Animal Crossing Elephant Tier List

TIA IS A TEA KETTLE. (We’ve upgraded her to S-Tier). Dizzy was bumped up by two tiers and Chai slots in just below Tia.

Animal Crossing Frog Tier List

If you like frogs, there are some good frogs. If you don’t like frogs, the selection may seem underwhelming. Lily stands out as the one character who everyone seems to welcome. Important note: frogs should not have realistic lips. Please delete this from my memory, thanks.

When it comes to catchphrases, Jeremiah isn’t the best. Nee-deep? Really? Prince is just burping and Raddle is another sneezer.

Animal Crossing Goat Tier List

Sherb has taken the internet by storm, but there are other good goats, too! All-in-all, we stand by our original rankings. No changes here.

Animal Crossing Gorilla Tier List

The gorillas aren’t great, honestly. Not even Louie and his reference to Donkey Kong is enough to make him popular. Rilla, the lone post-release addition, fails to impress.

Animal Crossing Hamster Tier List

Hamsters are great, and not just because you can show them a hamster cage and have them freak out. They’re so darn cute.

In this update, we give Apple the credit she’s due, finally give Hamphrey a bump despite being a grump, and place Marlo in B-Tier.

Highlights from the Animal Crossing Community:

Animal Crossing Hippo Tier List

In my eyes, Bertha and Bubbles belong together outside my city hall singing a duet. No changes for the hippos.

Animal Crossing Horse Tier List

Julian is a damn unicorn, folks. Reneigh and Roscoe are also good, but neither can put up the popularity numbers that Julian does.

Animal Crossing Kangaroo Tier List

Just like eagles, kangaroos are still cute and a solid addition, but aren’t a super popular species. Their catchphrases are a little weird in the year of our Lord 2021. Love to have villagers going around ending every sentence with “child,” “wee baby,” and “my pet.”

Animal Crossing Koala Tier List

Koalas are average, though they do get extra points for being so damn colorful. Eugene stands out as one of the most unique villagers out there. We think Faith will be decently popular after her release, so we’ve sorted her into the A-Tier for now.

Animal Crossing Lion Tier List

I’m not a huge fan of the lions’ face designs and the community might not be, either. None of these are super popular options, but I at least wanted to give Lionel credit for being unique.

Animal Crossing Monkey Tier List

Just like with Eagles, Monkeys were okay but really needed a new villager to be the face of the species. I believe Tiansheng will be exactly that, so he’s been slotted into A-Tier.

Animal Crossing Mouse Tier List

The mice are super cute but don’t quite land in my books; there are simply better options out there. I don’t actually dislike most of them. Someone just needs to tell me what’s going on with Rizzo and Limberg, though. They’re straight-up creepy-looking.

With the glasses and color combination, I suspect Petri will be the new favorite Mouse.

Animal Crossing Octopus Tier List

I understand why Zucker is popular; he’s takoyaki, after all. All of these are among the most sought-after villagers, likely because there are only four of them available. While there’s been a lot of hype for Cephalobot, I think he’ll fall into the secondary tier.

Animal Crossing Villager Spotlights:

Animal Crossing Ostrich Tier List

Flora wins the popularity battle here, which should come as no surprise. We’ve done some rebalancing here, giving Sprocket and Julia a much-needed boost. Rio will likely fall somewhere around them in popularity.

Animal Crossing Penguin Tier List

Despite winning over the entire internet prior to the launch of New Horizons, Roald has fallen in the popularity charts. He’s still a champion in our minds, though. There’s been some slight shuffling in these ranks but Chabwick, the new Penguin, starts in Tier C.

Animal Crossing Pig Tier List

All three of our top-ranked pigs are not only cute but also have decent houses! Gala is basically living in a statehouse, complete with jail bars, surveillance cameras, and gold bars. Hugh has piles and boxes of food with nothing else other than a fridge, sleeping bag, and freezers; it’s kind of endearing. Agnes, on the other hand, has this gray/black themed abode with a black rose bed, lots of flowers, a wall-mounted TV, and more.

Animal Crossing Rabbit Tier List

Coco is probably the most iconic rabbit in New Horizons. I mean, just look at them! Even if their house is a bit bland, it’s unique among villager designs. Ruby is another popular choice, which is great because she also comes with a space-themed house! Out of all of them, I think Cole is the most underappreciated. Look at those eyes.

Two new additions here: Toby, who is entirely lackluster, and Sasha, who is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Please come to my island, Sasha! [Editor’s note: oh my god, I would die for Sasha.]

Other Animal Crossing Guides:

Animal Crossing Rhino Tier List

All of the available rhinos have been overshadowed by Merengue and for a justified reason. Just look at her! She has a strawberry horn! Hornsby gains some extra points just because of his awesome shade of blue.

As part of the 2.0 Update, Azalea will likely be above average in popularity.

Animal Crossing Sheep Tier List

The New Horizons sheep have something to offer everyone. Do you want a super cute, dancing sheep? Go with Dom. Muffy is a godsend for all of the goths out there. And there’s no way we couldn’t include Pietro, even if clowns aren’t for everyone.

We were pretty harsh on the sheep overall in our initial rankings, so we’ve bumped multiple sheep up a tier. Etoile currently finds herself alongside Muffy and Pietro.

Animal Crossing Squirrel Tier List

Squirrels are similar to cubs in that there are a plethora of cute options. Whether you opt for Marshal’s testy façade or the excitement that Caroline exudes is up to you! By now, you’ve probably noticed that I’m not a huge fan of angry-looking villagers. So, if that’s your thing then just reverse the order. Ricky and Sheldon are definitely not my thing, but maybe they’re yours.

I’m almost positive that Ione is going to end up among the top three villagers from the 2.0 update, so she’s S-Tier off the bat, as well.

Animal Crossing Tiger Tier List

Tigers, like the Lions, fail to impress as a whole. Some of them are cute, but their houses are pretty bland and don’t stand out. The only major change is bumping up Bianca to B-Tier because she’s clearly the best Tiger available.

Animal Crossing Wolf Tier List

Wolves are surprisingly underrated. Even old grumps like Dobie have a certain amount of charm. We’ve updated our rankings to reflect that.

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
B	Drago	Lazy	burrrn
C	Del	Cranky	gronk
C	Gayle	Normal	snacky
C	Alli	Snooty	graaagh
D	Alfonso	Lazy	it’sa me
D	Boots	Jock	munchie
D	Sly	Jock	hoo-rah
D	Roswell	Lazy	unknown

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
B	Antonio	Jock	honk
B	Zoe	Normal	whiifff
B	Anabelle	Peppy	snorty
C	Annalisa	Normal	gumdrop
C	Olaf	Smug	whiffa
D	Cyrano	Cranky	ah-CHOO
D	Pango	Peppy	snoooof
D	Snooty	Snooty	snifffff

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
A	Megan	Normal	sundae
B	Pinky	Peppy	wah
B	Tutu	Peppy	twinkles
C	Ursala	Sisterly	grooomph
C	Grizzly	Cranky	grrr…
C	Charlise	Sisterly	urgh
C	Teddy	Jock	grooof
D	Ike	Cranky	roadie
D	Curt	Cranky	fuzzball
D	Beardo	Smug	whiskers
D	Chow	Cranky	aiya
D	Nate	Laxy	yawwwn
D	Paula	Sisterly	yodelay
D	Klaus	Smug	strudel

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
B	Jacques	Smug	zut alors
B	Lucha	Smug	cacaw
B	Piper	Peppy	chickadee
B	Midge	Normal	tweedledee
B	Ace	Jock	ace
C	Anchovy	Lazy	chuurp
C	Jay	Jock	heeeeeyy
C	Jitters	Jock	bzzert
C	Sparro	Jock	like whoa
D	Admiral	Cranky	aye aye
D	Jacob	Lazy	chuuuuurp
D	Peck	Jock	crunch
D	Robin	Snooty	la-di-da
D	Twiggy	Peppy	cheepers

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
B	Stu	Lazy	moo-dude
C	Coach	Jock	stubble
C	Rodeo	Lazy	chaps
D	Vic	Cranky	cud
D	Angus	Cranky	macmoo
D	T-Bone	Cranky	moocher

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
S	Marina	Normal	blurp
S	Zucker	Lazy	bloop
A	Cephalobot	Smug	donk donk
B	Octavian	Cranky	sucker

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
S	Ankha	Snooty	me meow
S	Raymond	Smug	crisp
S	Lolly	Normal	bonbon
A	Bob	Lazy	pthhhpth
A	Punchy	Lazy	mrmpht
A	Merry	Peppy	mweee
A	Rosie	Peppy	silly
A	Tangy	Peppy	reeeeOWR
B	Kid Cat	Jock	psst
B	Kiki	Normal	kitty cat
B	Mitzi	Normal	mew
B	Olivia	Snooty	purrr
C	Felicity	Peppy	mimimi
C	Kabuki	Cranky	meooo-OH
C	Katt	Sisterly	purrty
C	Purrl	Snooty	kitten
C	Tom	Cranky	me-YOWZA
C	Rudy	Jock	mush
D	Kitty	Snooty	mrowrr
D	Moe	Lazy	myawn
D	Monique	Snooty	pffffft
D	Stinky	Jock	GAHHHH
D	Tabby	Peppy	me-WOW

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
C	Becky	Snooty	chicklet
C	Ken	Smug	no doubt
C	Egbert	Lazy	doodle-duh
D	Plucky	Sisterly	chiky-poo
D	Ava	Normal	beaker
D	Benedict	Lazy	uh-hoo
D	Broffina	Snooty	cluckadoo
D	Knox	Cranky	cluckling
D	Goose	Jock	buh-kay

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
S	Judy	Snooty	myohmy
S	Stitches	Lazy	stuffin
S	Maple	Normal	honey
A	Bluebear	Peppy	peach
A	June	Normal	rainbow
A	Cheri	Peppy	tralala
A	Pekoe	Normal	bud
B	Olive	Normal	sweet pea
C	Poncho	Jock	li’l bear
C	Tammy	Sisterly	ya heard
C	Marty	Lazy	pompom
D	Barold	Lazy	cubby
D	Chester	Lazy	rookie
D	Kody	Jock	grah-grah
D	Murphy	Cranky	laddie
D	Pudge	Lazy	pudgy
D	Vladimir	Cranky	nyet

Tier	Villager	Personality	Catchphrase
S	Beau	Lazy	saltlick
S	Diana	Snooty	no doy
S	Fauna	Normal	dearie
S	Shino	Peppy	okaaay
A	Deirdre	Sisterly	whatevs
A	Erik	Lazy	chow down
B	Bam	Jock	kablang
B	Lopez	Smug	buckaroo
B	Zell	Smug	pronk
C	Bruce	Cranky	gruff
C	Fuchsia	Sisterly	precious
C	Chelsea	Normal	pound cake

Bangle of Early Antiquity

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