There are a lot of different types of villagers and NPCs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and some are clearly older than others. Figuring out how old each Animal Crossing NPC is, however, isn't an easy task. Thankfully, some dedicated fans have come up with what appears to be a pretty decent grouping solution for those players who are interested in knowing just how many years old Animal Crossing: New Horizons' villagers are.
Although villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons have had their egos and outbursts toned down somewhat when compared to previous Animal Crossing games, each of them still have distinct personalities. Choosing which villagers to keep and which to send away from a player's island is part of the personalized fun of Animal Crossing, and each NPC has likes, dislikes, and a general attitude which can be useful in determining what age category they fall into.
A user on the Animal Crossing Fan Forums has come up with a great way of grouping every villager and NPC in Animal Crossing to determine how old each of the characters might be. While the game's developers haven't released any official information on NPC and villager ages, the system included below can act as a pretty useful tool when trying to figure out how old each Animal Crossing villager is.
Animal Crossing Villager Age Groups Explained
According to the fan guide, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' villagers can be grouped into eight different categories based on their attitudes. The attitude categories are Jock villagers, Peppy villagers, Lazy villagers, Normal villagers, Smug villagers, Sisterly villagers, Snooty villagers, and Cranky villagers.
Teenagers in Animal Crossing are said to be the Jock villagers, aged around 15-19. According to the fan-made guide, "With their interest in sports but young attitude, they would be at the age where they start driving more and doing more mature things." The next group, Peppy Animal Crossing villagers, are said to be more along the lines of "a solid 21" because of "how much of a partygoer they are."
As Animal Crossing villagers age, their temperaments appear to change with them. At 22 Animal Crossing NPCs are Lazy, at 23 they are Normal, and at 24 they are Smug. It isn't until they get to be "in the 26 range" that Animal Crossing villagers are said to become Sisterly, and four years after that they "start developing more serious jobs, getting into fashion, and becoming more independent," which turns them into Snooty Animal Crossing villagers.
The final age range listed is the largest, and it encompasses all of the Cranky Animal Crossing villagers from roughly the ages of 32 through 80. Based on the comments listed on the original post, most fans of Animal Crossing: New Horizons seem to agree on this ranking, with one user saying "the cranky villager age range makes a lot of sense" because of the difference in age between Cranky Animal Crossing characters like Dobie and Tom Nook.
While it's unlikely the developers will ever nail down a concrete age for Animal Crossing: New Horizons' NPCs and villagers, the fan-created guide above seems to be the next best thing. It's interesting to see how Animal Crossing's characters change as they get older, and maybe it's a sign that future games after Animal Crossing: New Horizons will shake up certain villager personalities once again.