When you are trying to meticulously plan your island layout in Animal Crossing New Horizons, you are most likely to run into the matter of ACNH building plot size, especially when you are moving the buildings like your own house, villagers' houses, shops, Nook's Cranny, museum, inclines, bridges, etc. So it is helpful to know the Animal Crossing New Horizons building dimensions. So we summarized this guide based on some players’ posts from Reddit and other social platforms.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Building Dimensions

Below is the list of the ACNH Building Sizes posted by u/beccaw112 on Reddit, in order to help other players to figure out a layout easier. Before checking out the dimension of a certain building, keep these notes in your mind:

• Size: Width (Side to side) by length (Front to back) in tiles. All of the ACNH building using animal crossing items plot dimensions listed are from the widest part and from the longest part. 

• Each building also has a 3x2 undeniable footprint where the door is, in front of the building. Can place a path though. EXCEPT: Museum: 3x1 door space, Campsite: 2x1 door space, Shop: matches exact footprint.

• Certain buildings (Villager homes, the tailor, and the campsite) take up less space in front of windows and more in front of the entrance. So you may be able to place things closer if it's away from the entrance, and a building may look smaller than the dimensions listed here.

• Each building/bridge/incline needs a 1 tile gap between it and another building.

• Museum and the shop have the same footprint when they're being upgraded.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Terraforming Structures & Building Sizes

You can move buildings in Animal Crossing New Horizons. But it comes at a cost: 50,000 Animal Crossing New Horizons bells for a normal building, and 30,000 ACNH bells for your house. It is obviously Tom Nook who will be in charge of the operation, it is still necessary that you have progressed enough in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to have this functionality. The smartest thing is, therefore, when you choose a place to install tents, houses, and buildings, to think of a place that you will consider rather final, just to not have to purse to repair this error of judgment. 50,000 Animal Crossing bells, for example, part of your mortgage that you would pay more slowly. You can cancel a relocation before you place the marker kit and get your ACNH bells back by speaking with Tom Nook. And then try and relocate the same/different building. But Nook will only move one building a day so you can't compare buildings side by side. Therefore, no matter if you're trying to figure out a layout before building your island or removing the already settled structures, you've probably realized that building plot size matters. 

List of Animal Crossing New Horizons Building Sizes

• Player Home: 5 wide by 4 long (with 1 extra space in front that cannot be dug with a shovel)

• Nook's Cranny: 7 wide by 4 long exteriors. It does not change with the upgrade to the shop

• Museum: 7 wide by 4 long (with 1 extra space in front that cannot be dug with a shovel)

• Campsite: 4 wide by 4 long (with 1 extra space in front that cannot be dug with a shovel)

• Tailor: 5 wide by 4 long (with 1 extra space in front that cannot be dug with a shovel)

• Villager Home: 4 wide by 4 long (with 1 extra space in front that cannot be dug with a shovel)

• Inclines (Staircases): 2 wide by 4 long (must be flush against a cliff, with the long part flat against the side.)

• Bridges: 4 wide by 4 long sections of water. Every bridge itself has a 2 tile wide walkway, it can be placed over 3, 4 or 5 tiles of water. But can not go over a section of water wider than 5 tiles. On either side of a bridge, there must be 3 open tiles that do not intersect with anything. If there is a cliff, or a waterfall, or a structure in that area, construction will not proceed. It must be flat on both sides of the land.

• Able Sisters Taylor Shop: 5 wide by 5 long exteriors.

• Rivers: All rivers have to be at least 3 wide to spawn fish. To be considered a river it must be connected to a waterfall, a river mouth, or sometimes multiple ponds connected by streams can be seen as a river. The best way to check is by fishing in it. If the water around the bobber is streaming in one direction it's a river.

• Ponds: Ponds have to be at least 3 by 3 to spawn fish.

• Trees: Trees need at least 1 tile of space between itself and a building to be planted.

• Furniture and Paths: they do not follow this rule. You can place furniture, paths and other ACNH items right up against a house. However, you cannot place paths or furniture of any kind in the resident services plaza.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fixed Structures & Building Sizes

There are fixed structures that cannot be changed on your island: the placement of Resident Services, dock, secret beach, the beach in general, rocks on and around the beach, the outcropping of grass into the ocean, river mouths. Most of these structures’ sizes have no effect on your layout such as the width of the river mouth. You only should pay attention to the below-fixed building sizes when you are planing other removable buildings around them. 

• Main Island: 80 wide by 64 long (5x4 acres. 1 acre is 16x16) - Beach not included. Every island is different and will have some grassy areas beyond the 5x4 acre area, but will always have at least that much area.

• Resident Services Plaza: 12 wide by 10 long. The building itself is 6 wide by 4 long, and the building is centered in the plaza, but is located at the back. There is one space behind the building that you can walk down.

• Resident Services Building: 6 wide by 4 long. Located at the rear of the Plaza, centered horizontally. There is a 1 tile strip of Plaza behind the building.

• Airport: 12 wide. It is located at the base of the island.