Age of Empires 2 Villager Calculator: How Many Villagers on Each Resource?

Rules of thumb

There is no time for maths mid-game. The numbers below are per building, assuming farms without upgrades, Double-Bit Axe and Bow Saw on wood, and Gold Mining:

• Villagers from 1 Town Center: 6–7 farmers
• Knights from 1 Stable: 6–7 on food + 6 on gold
• Scout Cavalry / Light Cavalry from 1 Stable: 8–9 on food
• Crossbowmen from 1 Archery Range: 2 on wood + 4 on gold
• Elite Skirmishers from 1 Archery Range: 3–4 on food + 3 on wood
• Militia line from 1 Barracks: 7–8 on food + 2 on gold

So the classic "2 Town Centers + 2 Stables of Knights" Castle Age plan needs roughly 25 farmers and 12 gold miners. On top of that come the wood and stone villagers for buildings, castles and upgrades.

How is it calculated?

Each unit’s cost is divided by its training time to get how much a building spends per second. Dividing that by how much one villager gathers per second from that resource gives the number of villagers needed. With Conscription ticked, the Barracks, Archery Range, Stable and Castle work 33% faster; the Siege Workshop is not affected.

Gather rates per villager (no upgrades, per second):

• Farm 0.32 · sheep 0.33 · hunt 0.41 · berry bushes 0.31 · shore fish 0.43
• Wood 0.39 — Double-Bit Axe +20%, Bow Saw +20%, Two-Man Saw +10%
• Gold 0.38 — Gold Mining and Gold Shaft Mining +15% each
• Stone 0.36 — Stone Mining and Stone Shaft Mining +15% each

The 0.32 for farms is the long-run average and already includes walking around the farm. The farm upgrades at the Mill increase how much food a farm holds, not the gather rate, so they are not part of the calculation.

What is not included

• Walking to drop-off sites. If your lumber and mining camps are not right next to the resource, villagers lose time walking and in practice you need a few more. Wheelbarrow and Hand Cart at the Town Center reduce this loss.
• Civilization bonuses. For example, the Celts chop wood faster and the Turks mine gold faster; some civilizations also have faster production buildings. If yours has such a bonus, the result is slightly high.
• Unique units are not listed; pick a generic unit with a similar cost instead.

Sources

Unit costs and training times come from aoe2techtree, which is generated from the game files; gather rates and upgrade bonuses come from the Age of Empires Wiki (October 2026). Unit and technology names follow the game’s official translation. Values may change with new patches; if you spot a mistake, let us know.

To see the total price of your army and upgrades, try the cost calculator.