Verified for game version 1.6.x
Stardew Valley has 30+ named villagers, and most new players can’t tell the bachelors from the shopkeepers. This overview covers the people who matter for relationships — the 12 marriage candidates, the one roommate, and the systems that gate your progress with them.
The 12 marriage candidates
| Villager | Birthday | Where you’ll find them |
|---|---|---|
| Abigail | Fall 13 | Pelican Town — hangs near the graveyard / Pierre’s. |
| Alex | Summer 13 | Pelican Town — the Spa and his home (north). |
| Emily | Spring 27 | Pelican Town — the Stardrop Saloon, and her trailer. |
| Elliott | Fall 5 | Pelican Town — his cabin on the beach. |
| Haley | Spring 14 | Pelican Town — south of the farm, at the fountain. |
| Harvey | Winter 14 | Pelican Town — Harvey’s Clinic (he runs it). |
| Leah | Winter 23 | Her cabin in Cindersap Forest (west of the farm). |
| Maru | Summer 10 | Pelican Town — Harvey’s Clinic (lives above it). |
| Penny | Fall 2 | Pelican Town — the trailer park (north). |
| Sam | Summer 17 | Pelican Town — his home (north), often by the bus stop. |
| Sebastian | Winter 10 | Pelican Town — his room in Robin’s house (basement). |
| Shane | Spring 20 | Pelican Town — Marnie’s Ranch (and the Saloon). |
Krobus is the one roommate option (not a marriage candidate) — he lives in the Sewers and is the source of the Void Egg (and the Return Scepter). He has his own gift list and can’t be married.
Other notable villagers (non-marriage)
| Villager | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Robin | Carpenter / builder | Mountain, north of town |
| Demetrius | Scientist | Maru’s house (mountain) |
| Marnie | Sells animals | Ranch, south of town |
| Pierre | General store | Town center |
| Clint | Blacksmith | East of town |
| Willy | Fishing shop | Beach |
| Gus | Saloon cook | Stardrop Saloon |
| Sandy | Oasis shop | Desert |
| Linus | Camper | North of town, by the lake |
| Lewis | Mayor | Mayor’s manor |
These villagers don’t marry but they run the economy — you’ll visit Robin to build, Clint to smelt, Pierre to buy seeds, Sandy for Starfruit seeds.
Heart events and how you unlock them
Each candidate has scripted heart events at 2, 4, 6, 8, and (for marriage candidates) 10 hearts. They trigger when you enter the right location at the right time with the required hearts — and they’re how you learn the character, not menu-grinding. You cannot marry someone at 10 hearts without seeing the preceding events; the game gates the proposal on story, not just points.
A rough heart-event schedule per candidate (varies by character):
| Hearts | What usually happens |
|---|---|
| 2 | First character beat, often in their home or a town spot |
| 4 | A problem or backstory scene |
| 6 | A deeper scene; sometimes a gift or conflict |
| 8 | Pivotal scene before romance |
| 10 | Marriage proposal eligibility (candidates only) |
Marriage perks
Once married, a spouse moves into the farmhouse and can: cook breakfast, water crops, feed animals, or give gifts depending on who they are. They also grant a small daily gift and (for some) a unique room. The cost: friendship decay becomes −20/day and never stops, so marriage is a long-term upkeep, not a one-time win.
Friendship decay (don’t panic)
- −2/day before you give a bouquet (stops at 8 hearts).
- −10/day after a bouquet (stops at 8 hearts).
- −20/day when married — and it never stops, so spouses need upkeep.
- Decay pauses at 8 hearts for friends, so once you’re “there” with a non-spouse, you can relax.
This is why the gift & birthday guide leans so hard on birthdays: a single correct birthday gift (×8 multiplier) offsets weeks of decay in one action.
Where the full profiles live
Every villager’s complete, version-checked data — birthday, schedule, liked and loved gifts, heart events, marriage details — is on the individual villager pages (rolling out as part of the content plan). When the Gift Planner tool launches, you’ll be able to type any name and get the optimal gift instantly instead of memorizing this table.
Applicable conditions and exceptions
- The 12-candidate list and Krobus roommate are fixed in 1.6.x. Mods (notably Stardew Valley Expanded) add candidates — this overview covers the vanilla game only.
- Heart-event triggers depend on time of day and weather; some require you to not be married or to have seen earlier events. The specific trigger for each event is on that villager’s page.
- Villager schedules shift on festival days and after marriage; don’t rely on a weekday spot on a festival date.
Choosing a marriage candidate
The 12 candidates each bring a distinct personality and slightly different spouse perks, but none is strictly better — the right pick is whoever you like. A few practical notes: characters who live close to the farm (Penny, Sam, Sebastian, Abigail) are easier to gift daily; others (Elliott at the beach, Leah in the forest) take more travel time. Some players optimize for the easiest hearts, but most optimize for the companion they enjoy reading about. The individual villager pages carry each one’s full gift list and heart events so you can judge before you commit a bouquet.
Raising friendship efficiently
Talk to your target villager every day (plus 20) and hit the two weekly gift slots with loved items. Use the gift and birthday guide to pick gifts, and time the second weekly gift away from the birthday so you keep the 8x day free for a loved gift. For non-marriage villagers, you usually only need a few hearts to unlock shop discounts or perks (Pierre’s, Clint’s), so a handful of gifts is enough before you move on.
Where everyone lives (quick map)
Pelican Town is the hub: most marriage candidates and shops cluster around the square, the clinic, and the Saloon. The Mountain (north) holds Robin, Demetrius, and the mines; the Ranch (south) holds Marnie and Shane; the Beach (east) holds Willy and Elliott; Cindersap Forest (west) holds Leah. Knowing travel time helps you plan daily gift runs — a candidate far from your route is harder to court consistently, which matters more than people admit when hearts are on the line.
Next
Master the points behind relationships in the gift & birthday guide.
Sources & verification
- Primary: Stardew Valley Wiki — individual villager pages and NPCs. Names, home locations, marriage eligibility and clinic days are from each villager’s wiki infobox.
- Birthdays and loved gifts were re-parsed from the wiki infoboxes and Loves tables (see the gift & birthday guide for method). NPCs with no in-game birthday (e.g. Birdie, Krobus, Wizard-adjacent special NPCs) are marked “Unknown” — this is correct, not missing data.
- The wiki is the canonical, developer-recognized source for 1.6.x; an independent villager database was unavailable in this environment.