Habitats are built above planets that don’t have anomalies and are essentially planets of their own, although they are smaller and are meant to be permanently inhabited. They have districts similar to planets and can be given special designations that are also similar to planets.
Build a Habitat by selecting a construction ship, then click on the system you want to build it in for a detailed system view. In the list of orders for the Construction Ship click on the “Build Mega Structure” icon and select Habitat from the pop-up list. Locations where it can be built will have a greenish circle around them. Click on one of them and the Construction Ship will move there and build the habitat.
It costs 150 Influence and 1,500 Alloys to build a Habit and it takes 1,200 days to build it.
If you select a construction ship, select a system and order it to build a Habitat, it will go there but will stop once it gets there since no target location has been selected.
What Are The Stellaris Habitat Requirements?
To build a habitat you will need to research Orbital Habitats which appears in the Engineering branch of Research. You’ll also need the Utopia DLC to be able to build Habitats.
The requirement for where to build a Habitat is that they must be built at a planet that doesn’t have an anomaly that is within your empire.
A Habitat costs 150 Influence and 1,500 Alloys to build and it takes 1,200 days build.
How To Increase Stellaris Habitat Size
A Habitat can be upgraded twice which increases its size. The first upgrade is obtained through Habitat Expansion research. This is a rare technology in the Engineering branch so it can be difficult to get. Once completed it adds a Decision to your habitat to “Upgrade Habitat” and increase your District Slots from 4 to 6. All four district slots must be full before you can perform the upgrade. This upgrade decision costs 25 Influence, 1,000 alloys and it takes 720 to complete the upgrade.
The next upgrade is obtained through researching Advanced Space Habitation in the Engineering research branch and this is also a rare technology. When completed it adds another “Upgrade Habitat” Decision to the Habitat Decisions. It requires all 6 districts to be full and increases the District slots to 8. Before you can implement this Decision you will need to upgrade the Habitat Administration building to a Habitat Central Control if you haven’t already. You must have at least 10 pops in the Habitat before it can be upgraded to a Central Control. It costs 50 Influence and 1,500 Alloys to upgrade and takes 1,440 days to complete the upgrade.
How Many Habitats Can You Build In Stellaris?
The number is only limited by the number of planets you have in your empire and the resources you have to build them with. The number of Habitats you can build in a system is only limited by the number of planets in the system.
Stellaris Habitat Districts
Habitats vary based on the type of empire you’re playing. Humanoid empires get 4 district types to choose from, Habitation, Industrial, Trade and Leisure Districts.
Machine and Hive Mind empires only have a selection of 3 districts, Habitation, Reactor and Industrial.
All three empire types get an additional specialized district if the Habitat is built over a planet containing a mining, energy, or research resource.
Habitats also have their own special sets of designations and districts and only designations applying to Districts are listed.
Habitat Habitation District
Habitation Districts provide additional housing for your citizens, even if the living accommodations are a little sparse in amenities.
| Humanoid | Machine | Hive Mind | |
| Time | 115 | 138 | 138 |
| Mineral Costs | 450 | 500 | 500 |
| Upkeep in Energy | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Additional Housing | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Additional Jobs | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Produces | 0 | 8 Amenities | 8 Amenities |
Habitation Industrial District
Habitation Industrial Districts are similar to planetary Industrial districts, but they have the added advantage of working in a low gravity environment.
A Humanoid, Hive Mind or Machine empire Habitat with an Industrial Station designation increases build speed by 25% and Metallurgist and Artisan upkeep is reduced by 10%.
A Humanoid, Hive Mind or Foundry designation for a Habitat also increases Industrial District build speed by 25% and reduces Metallurgist upkeep by 20%.
A Humanoid empire’s Factory designation increases Industrial District build speed by 25% and reduces Artisan upkeep by 20%.
| Humanoid | Machine | Hive Mind | |
| Time | 115 | 138 | 138 |
| Mineral Costs | 450 | 500 | 500 |
| Upkeep in Energy | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Additional Housing | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Additional Jobs | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Humanoid Habitat Trade, Leisure & Research Districts
The Human empires have Trade and Leisure districts, plus a specialty district like a Research District if a Habitat is built over a planet with a resource. Trading Districts provide a place for merchants to conduct trade and business, Leisure Districts provide the entertainment to keep your pops happy.
A Humanoid Leisure Station designation increases that district’s build speed by 25% plus it provides a bonus of 10% in Happiness.
A Humanoid Trade Station designation increases that district’s build speed by 25% plus the Station’s Trade Value goes up by 20%.
A Humanoid Research Station designation reduces that district’s build speed by 25% plus it provides a 10% boost in Researcher output.
| Trade | Leisure | Research (Specialty) | |
| Time | 115 | 115 | 120 |
| Mineral Costs | 450 | 450 | 450 |
| Upkeep in Energy | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Additional Housing | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Additional Jobs | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Jobs Upkeep | 3 Consumer Goods | 6 Consumer Goods | |
| Produces | 8 Amenities | 7 Unity | 30 Physics, Engineering & Society Research |
| 20 Trade Value | 30 Amenities |
Machine & Hive Mind Habitat Reactor & Auto-Mining Districts
Similar to Generator Districts on planets, these produce vast amounts of Energy for your empire. Hive Mind and Machine empires can also gain a Specialty District if a Habitat is built over a planet with a resource like Minerals.
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A Machine or Hive Mind empire with a Habitat having the Generator Station Colony Designation reduces build speed for that district by 25% plus it increases its Energy output by 10%.
| Reactor (Machine) | Reactor (Hive Mind) | Auto-Mining (Specialty) | |
| Time | 138 | 138 | 120 |
| Mineral Costs | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Upkeep in Energy | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Additional Housing | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Additional Jobs | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Produces | 44 Energy | 42 Energy | 30 Minerals |