Massive Fan Poll Reveals the Best and Worst Animal Crossing Villagers

In the Animal Crossing franchise, cultivating a thriving island or tranquil town has always revolved around the eclectic cast of animal neighbors who move in. With hundreds of potential residents across the series, whether a newcomer becomes an instant favorite or an unwelcome resident often comes down to pure chance. The perennial debate over which character stands as the definitive best led AnimalCrossingWorld to host a massive community poll, tallying over 1.8 million votes to settle the rankings once and for all.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons transformed the recruitment process with Nook Miles Tickets, allowing players to embark on island-hopping expeditions to recruit their coveted “dreamies”—the most universally adored characters in the community.

Surprisingly, the extensive voting results revealed some notable upsets. Raymond, the dapper, heterochromatic feline who dominated social media and commanded exorbitant sums on the in-game black market upon New Horizons’ 2020 release, failed to crack the top tier. While players once traded millions of Bells and hundreds of Nook Miles Tickets for the Smug cat, his initial craze has stabilized, placing him at #37 in the A-tier bracket.

Despite Raymond’s lower placement, cats remain the undisputed favorites of the community, securing seven positions in the highest bracket. Leading the entire roster at number one is Lolly, the beloved Normal personality cat.

The Top 20 S-Tier Animal Crossing Villagers

1. Lolly (Cat)
2. Shino (Deer)
3. Ione (Squirrel)
4. Fauna (Deer)
5. Merengue (Rhino)
6. Rosie (Cat)
7. Molly (Duck)
8. Maple (Cub)
9. Lucky (Dog)
10. Tangy (Cat)
11. Diana (Deer)
12. Marshal (Squirrel)
13. Stitches (Cub)
14. Poppy (Squirrel)
15. Punchy (Cat)
16. Goldie (Dog)
17. Kiki (Cat)
18. Marina (Octopus)
19. Bob (Cat)
20. Mitzi (Cat)

At the opposite end of the spectrum, villagers such as Truffles, Vic, Violet, Vladimir, and Wart Jr. occupy the lowest tiers, though dynamic polling means these positions can fluctuate over time.

For data-driven fans, the interactive ranking tool provides deeper insights, enabling users to explore popularity metrics filtered by personality archetypes, species distributions, and direct head-to-head match-ups.

Source: Polygon