Housing is a new concept in Civilization VI, which adds a slowing factor and eventually a limit on
Population growth in each city. It is meant to emulate habitation and sanitation factors in cities, and the limits overcrowding imposes on growth.
Housing acts alongside the traditional
Food growth factor in the following way:
![]() ![]() |
Growth rate from ![]() |
---|---|
2 or more | 100% |
1 | 50% |
0 to -4 | 25% |
-5 or less | 0% |
Note that Housing does not replace
Food! If you do not have enough incoming
Food, no amount of spare
Housing will help your city grow.
Contents
Mechanics[edit | edit source]
Housing acts by putting an additional constraint on Population growth beyond food supply (as per the table above). In practice, this means that a city will need Housing to grow larger, even if it has more than enough
Food.
Initially the amount of Housing available is strongly dependent on fresh water access (quite correct historically). That's why water supply plays such a prominent role in the Settler lens - look for the dark green tiles to settle in the best possible locations.
When the city develops, however, its Housing becomes mostly dependent on the existence of tile improvements, buildings and districts (that is, facilities inside the city which have no relation to nearby terrain). Still later, civics and governments will also add
Housing.
Note that Housing is a fluid trait, especially when provided by "soft" sources such as Policy Cards. However, losing
Housing (that is, the sudden drop in the
Housing limit, for example because you stopped using a certain Policy) will not cause loss of
Population. Instead it will merely slow down
Population growth, or stop it altogether. In that manner
Housing is very different from
Food: when you are losing
Food in the city you will also eventually start losing
Population.
For details on how to get more housing, see the section below. Also note that the "Housing" section of the City Details screen shows a detailed breakdown of all sources currently providing Housing for the city.
Sources[edit | edit source]
The most basic Housing conditions are related to a water source, and this depends on where your city (that is, the City Center) is placed. Fresh water (River, Lake, Oasis) provides 5
Housing. Coast provides 3
Housing if you don't have fresh water. Every other placement gives only 2
Housing, meaning that your
Population growth will be slowed since the very beginning.
Buildings and districts[edit | edit source]
Many buildings grant Housing. After researching Pottery, every city is able to build a Granary, which adds 2
Housing, and later they can build Sewers, which also adds 2
Housing. Buildings in other
District sometimes add
Housing, such as the Barracks in the Encampment, the University in the Campus, and the Lighthouse in the Harbor. The religious beliefs such as Feed the World and the Pagoda or Gurdwara buildings that can be built in the Holy Site add
Housing. The Palace in your
Capital city also adds 1
Housing.
Aqueducts are the earliest engineering means of increasing Housing by providing additional access to water. They will add 2
Housing for cities that already have fresh water; otherwise they will set the water
Housing value to 6.
The Neighborhood district is exclusively dedicated to providing Housing through additional habitation space.
Finally, in Gathering Storm the Dam also provides Housing by improving the sanitation from nearby rivers.
Improvements[edit | edit source]
Each Farm, Pasture, Plantation, or Camp supports a small amount of Population — 1
Housing for every 2 such improvements. Supporting rural
Population in this fashion will allow for slightly larger
Populations prior to the Industrial Era, when the Neighborhood district becomes available.
In Gathering Storm the futuristic Seastead offers a major late-game means of additional Housing by constructing floating homes in any water tile.
There are some civilizations whose unique tile improvements provide extra Housing beside standard improvements. Below is the list of unique tile improvements that provide
Housing:
Golf Course (
): 1
Housing with Globalization
Kampung: 1
Housing, 1 additional
Housing with Mass Production
Mekewap (
): 1
Housing, 1 additional
Housing with Civil Service
Outback Station: 0.5
Housing
Polder (
): 0.5
Housing
Stepwell: 1
Housing, 1 additional
Housing with Sanitation
Terrace Farm (
): 0.5
Housing
Also, there are certain city-state specific improvements that players can build once Suzerain of that city-state. Below is the list of city-state specific improvements that provide Housing:
Cahokia Mounds (
): 1
Housing, 1 additional
Housing with Cultural Heritage
Monastery: 1
Housing, 1 additional
Housing with Colonialism (Only provides
Housing in
)
Civilization and leader abilities[edit | edit source]
Some civilization and leader abilities grant additional Housing:
- The Australians gain +3
Housing in coastal cities.
- While the Mayans do not gain additional
Housing from water, they gain +1
Housing from Farms.
- Jayavarman VII grants +1
Housing to Holy Sites built adjacent to rivers.
Kupe grants the Palace +3
Housing.
Policies[edit | edit source]
Another major source of Housing is Policy Cards. The following Policy Cards, when activated, will increase
Housing by:
Policy Card | Function | First available |
---|---|---|
![]() |
1 ![]() |
Classical Era |
![]() ![]() |
Established Governors with at least 2 Promotions provide +1 ![]() ![]() |
Medieval Era |
![]() |
2 ![]() |
Medieval Era |
![]() |
4 ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Modern Era |
![]() ![]() |
Farms +1 ![]() ![]() |
Modern Era |
Wonders[edit | edit source]
Some wonders also supply bonuses in Housing. Below is the list of wonders that provide
Housing:
Angkor Wat: 1
Housing in all cities.
Great Bath (
): 3
Housing.
Hanging Gardens: 2
Housing.
Temple of Artemis (
): 3
Housing.
Others[edit | edit source]
There are also other sources of Housing, which are generally non-permanent. They are related to specific forms of government, or to its agents (the Governors), or the Suzerainty of Mohenjo-Daro. Since these may be changed or relocated at any time, you should aim to utilize them strategically in periods of the game for general growth, or in specific cities to allow a temporary growth spurt.