The meter shows I have 16 people in Sanctuary, but only 8 show up when I ring the bell. Walked around the town - no one. If people are taken to tend the supply routes, I only have 3 going out of this location. How do I find the rest of the people? Also, no more settlers are moving in, although I have plenty of beds and resources available. Any thoughts?

Did you had this Amount of Settlers before? Sometimes the Pip Boy shows the wrong Numbers. Do you use any Mods?

I think its a common problem in the game - I reckon each of my settlements is missing between two and eight people.

My worst case is Sunshine Tidings Co-op. There are supposed to be fourteen people there, but I can only find four. I do know that I assigned three as provisioners (before I knew that you only need one link per settlement), and one was killed in a raid, but that still leaves six missing. Actually, I think there are eight missing, because another two sent from other settlements never arrived.

Its very frustrating; the settlement simply won't develop much, as there are not enough people to do some farming and man the shop/bar/clinic in order to get happiness or whatever up.

I also don't know why recruitment just stops at some arbitrary point. My settlements have lavish facilities and my base Charisma is 10, but not a single place has edged past 22 - anything over 18 I reassign to the ones that can't seem to recruit over about 12 total. Abernathy Farm has never recruited past 8 itself, despite having a vast surplus of food, water and defence available (and my own personal protection in the form of those endless Minutemen quests!).

(I don't run any mods)

This happens to me a lot in Sanctuary, Abernathy Farm, and Sunshine Hills. Stats say I have 19, but if I walk around trying to find them all to upgrade their weapons and/or assign them, sometimes I only find about half of them. Other times, I can find them all. Even if I can't find them, the food & defense totals stay the same, so I know they exist. I've begun to wonder if it's related to how I arrive at the settlement; walking versus fast travel. But I'm wondering if fast traveling doesn't give the game time to populate the area. That's just a theory, no scientific data.

Build a chair next to the bell. Ring bell, sit, wait 1 hour. Should help with some of the ones that get stuck on roof and whatnot.

Also as mentioned before, pipboy lies. Check the values in workshop.

The Institute snatched them! And when they reappear, they are really synths! Kill, kill them all!!!!

Do Preston and Mama Murphy count as settlers ? Cause I can't assign anything to them.

Preston after you made the Castle Quest and Murphy until shes clean.

I've also noticed this - so far only Sanctuary as it's the only settlement I've rang the bell just to count heads. I was about 6/7 short.


Sanctuary shows 21 settlers and 22 beds. Strangely, 21 beds are taken, but can only find 13/14 settlers with the bell. Didn't see anymore with a run round the place too.