Villager in Minecraft: Jobs, Trades and Better Prices
Give a villager a workstation and it takes a job and trades for emeralds. How villager levels, restocks and reputation set prices, and village defense.
Villagers are the passive residents of villages and the reason most players settle near one. Give them a workstation and they take a job, then trade you items for emeralds: enchanted books, diamond gear, food, building blocks. Prices depend on how they feel about you, and they get better trades as they level up.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Health | 20 HP (10 hearts) |
| Found in | Villages and igloo basements |
| Professions | 13 jobs, plus unemployed and nitwit |
| Drops | Nothing (farmers may drop held bone meal) |
| XP | 3-6 per trade, 8-11 when bred |
Jobs and workstations
An unemployed villager claims the nearest free workstation and takes that job: a lectern makes a librarian, a composter a farmer, a grindstone a weaponsmith, and so on. The full list of the 13 jobs and their blocks is on our page of every villager job and workstation.
Nitwits, in green robes, can’t take a job or trade. They still breed, and they’re the ones who wander about all day.
Rerolling trades
Until you’ve traded with a villager, its trades aren’t locked. Break its workstation, let it lose the job, place the block back, and it rerolls. Librarians are the classic case: keep cycling a lectern until one offers Mending, then lock it in with a single trade.
Levels
Trading earns a villager experience. As it fills, the villager moves up from Novice to Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert and Master, unlocking a new pair of trades at each step. The badge on its belt shows the level (stone, iron, gold, emerald, diamond). Master toolsmiths and armorers sell enchanted diamond gear, which is worth the grind.
Villagers restock up to twice a day when they can reach their workstation during working hours. A villager sealed off from its block will run dry and stay that way.
Reputation and prices
Every villager tracks gossip about you. Trading builds a small positive reputation, and hurting villagers builds a negative one that spreads through the village. Low reputation means higher prices, and on Java, village iron golems eventually turn hostile.
Two things drop prices sharply:
- Curing a zombie villager. It gives a permanent, large discount from that villager. See how to cure a zombie villager.
- Hero of the Village. Defeating a raid gives a temporary discount from the whole village. On Java, villagers also throw you gifts.
Daily routine
Villagers work at their stations in the day, gather at the bell to socialize, and go to bed at dusk. They need a bed each to breed, plus enough food (three bread or twelve carrots, potatoes or beetroot) to become willing.
Threats to villagers
Zombies are the big one. A villager killed by a zombie has a 50% chance to become a zombie villager on Normal and a 100% chance on Hard (none on Easy). Raids by pillagers and their allies come next. Iron golems help, but a village you care about needs lit streets, doors or fences, and ideally a wall.
Lightning that strikes within a few blocks turns a villager into a witch.
Edition differences
- Java tracks negative gossip from attacks and kills in more detail, and only Java has Hero of the Village gifts.
- Bedrock assigns jobs from a shared village list, and about 10% of Bedrock baby villagers grow up as nitwits; on Java nitwits only spawn with the village or come from cured zombies.
- Iron golem summoning rules differ completely between editions.
The wandering trader and other village mobs are on the mobs hub.
Common questions
How do you change a villager's trades?
Break its workstation before you've traded with it, then place it again. The villager loses its job and picks it back up with a new set of trades. Once you've traded even once, the job and trades are locked.
How often do villagers restock?
Up to twice a day, but only when they can reach their workstation during work hours.
Why are my villager's prices so high?
Prices rise when an item is in demand and when your reputation is low. Curing a zombie villager or winning a raid gives big discounts.
What happens when lightning hits a villager?
It turns into a witch that never despawns.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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