Guide: How A 5 Star Island Rating Is Exactly Calculated In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The official Animal Crossing: New Horizons guidebook has revealed the exact requirements to achieve a 5 star island rating in the game.

In order to achieve a 5 star rating, your island must have at least 665 Development points and at least 450 Scenery points.

To earn Scenery points, you must grow as many trees as possible (1 point is awarded for every fully grown tree, up to 190 points). There will be a penalty if you have over 220 trees in your island. For every adult flower on your island, you will earn 1 point. That would mean the easiest ways to hit 450 Scenery points is by planting 190 trees and 260 flowers.

To earn Development points, you have to develop your island in a couple of ways. The easiest ways are as follows:

1. Build the museum to get 15 points
2. Upgrade Nook’s Cranny to get 15 points
3. Build Able Sisters’ tailor shop to get 15 points
4. For every bridge and incline that’s built, you earn 15 points. That’s a cool 240 points if you max out your bridge (8) and incline (8) limits.
5. You get points for placing DIY furniture and Nook Shopping furniture
6. You get 0.2 points per fence placed
7. You get bonuses for placing furniture that’s worth at least 2000 bells and furniture that’s meant for the outdoors.

Full details could be found below:

Star Rating Values

The star rating values are split into two separate categories: Development and Scenery. In order to increase your star rating, you must meet certain thresholds in both of these categories

Development	Scenery	Rating
Less than 80	Less than 200	1 Star
80 to 159	200 to 269	2 Stars
160 to 399	270 to 349	3 Stars
400 to 664	350 to 449	4 Stars
665+	450+	5 Stars

Island Scenery

Plantlife	Added Points
Trees (including bamboo)	+1 point for each fully grown tree up to 190 points
Flower Sprout	+0.5 Points
Flower Stem	+0.7 Points
Flower Bud	+0.7 Points
Adult Flower	+1 Point

Furniture placed is graded on an 8×8 tile basis known as a block.

DIY Furniture within a block	Added Points
For each unique piece of DIY furniture that is 3×1, 3×2 or 3×3 tile size	+1 point
4 or less different types of furniture	The number of furniture placed x 0.25 points
5-10 different types of furniture	The number of furniture placed x 0.25 points
10 or more different types of furniture	The number of furniture placed x 0.25 and the number of types x 0.75

Island Development

Condition	Added Points
Museum built	+15
Nook’s Cranny has been upgraded	+15
Able Sisters is built	+15
Bridge	+ (Number of Bridges) x 15
Incline	+ (Number of Inclines) x 15

Non-DIY Furniture is still graded on the 8×8 tile basis

Furniture within a block	Added Points
Less than 5 unique types of furniture	Number of placed furniture x 1
5 to 10 unique types of furniture placed	Number of placed furniture x 0.5 + The number of types x 0.5
10+ unique types of furniture	Number of placed furniture x 0.5 + The number of types x 0.75

Furniture Type and Bonuses

Bonus	Added Points
The placed furniture is recommended for the outdoors	Number of outdoor furniture x 0.5 additional points
The placed furniture costs 2000-20,000 bells	Number of applicable furniture x 1
The placed furniture costs over 20,000 bells	Number of applicable furniture x 2
Placed fences	Number of fences x 0.2

Negative Conditions

Clutter

• Clutter is gauged in the same 8×8 tile divisions as furniture

• If 45/64 or more tiles are covered in the block, the block is considered cluttered

• Buildings, bridges, buried items, rocks, cliffs, rivers and inclines will not count towards this

Littering

• If there are more than 15 small items dropped on the ground, your island will be deemed messy

• Naturally occurring items such as tree branches, stones and star fragments do not count

If either of these conditions are met, your town can not achieve five stars.