County of Fortune How Do Mayors Work: Bonuses & Swaps

Every settlement in County of Fortune is run by a named mayor whose production bonus is tied to specific building types — match the mayor's bonus to what the settlement actually produces, and swap mayors freely, because there is no penalty for swapping in the current build. That is the core loop of the system, and since the mayor rebalance announced by Nepos Games, there is no longer a downside to experimenting.

What a mayor actually does

Each settlement has a mayor with their own traits, skills, and flaws, described on the official Steam page. The mechanically important part is the production bonus: it boosts output from specific building types, so a mayor strong in agriculture does nothing for a settlement whose economy is logging and carpentry.

A mayor who is a poor fit is simply a neutral presence rather than a liability — negative mayor bonuses were removed in the rebalance that shipped ahead of the October 2026 demo, alongside the removal of the swap penalty.

Because bonuses are tied to building types, the practical rule is simple: look at what the settlement builds now, or what you plan to build there, then pick the mayor whose bonus covers those buildings. If you change the settlement's role later — demolishing a farm and putting in a workshop, for example — the mayor's fit changes with it, and swapping becomes worthwhile.

Traits and the thumbs-up check

Candidates are presented with a clear visual signal of fit. A first-hand demo impressions video on YouTube shows the flow: when a settlement needs a mayor, the candidate list marks good matches with a thumbs-up — for example a candidate flagged as good at growing beans when the settlement's first building is a bean farm, or a candidate good at chopping (logging) and cattle for a logging camp settlement.

If no candidate's bonus matches the new settlement's production, players report it can be worth appointing someone anyway for house-politics reasons and swapping in a better fit later.

How to assign or swap a mayor

The rebalance also simplified the interface: new and existing mayors now appear in the same window, so you can see available hires and current appointments side by side and spot when a good swap is available.

1. Open the settlement's mayor panel

   Select the settlement and open its mayor window. In the current build this one window lists both the incumbent mayor and the candidates you can appoint.

2. Check the settlement's production

   Look at which buildings the settlement has or will have, since bonuses only apply to the building types they name. A thumbs-up icon on a candidate signals a match with the settlement's current production.

3. Appoint or swap

   Pick the candidate whose bonus matches the settlement's buildings. Swapping is free — the former swap penalty was removed, so reassigning a mayor to a better-fitting settlement costs nothing.

4. Watch the noble-house balance

   Every mayor belongs to a noble house, and each appointment shifts regional power toward that house. If one house accumulates mayors, consider giving the next settlement's post to a mayor from a rival house.

Education points

Mayors are not stuck with their starting skills. The same demo playthrough shows education points being spent on an incumbent mayor to raise a relevant skill — in that case improving a mayor from a general fit to a strong carpentry/construction-production match so the settlement produced more construction points each turn. When no candidate offers the bonus you need, educating an existing mayor toward the settlement's building types is the alternative.

Why the rebalance matters

Mayor rebalancing was one of the headline community-requested changes before the demo. Earlier builds frustrated players, and the official demo announcement describes what changed: negative mayor bonuses removed, the swap penalty removed, and the UI merged so hiring and swapping happen in one place.

A later demo patch (0.1.10, October 2026) also fixed how mayor traits interact with privilege effects, so older impressions describing mayor math may not match the current demo.

Quick rules of thumb

• Match the mayor's bonus to the building types the settlement actually runs.
• Use the thumbs-up icon in the candidate list as a fast fit check.
• Swap freely — no penalty applies in the current build.
• Spread appointments across noble houses to keep regional power balanced.
• Spend education points to upgrade a mayor whose fit is close but not ideal.

FAQ

County of Fortune how do mayors work — what is the short version?

Each settlement is run by a named mayor with a production bonus tied to specific building types. Mayors belong to noble houses, and in the current build they can be swapped between settlements freely with no penalty. Match the bonus to the settlement's actual production.

Is there a penalty for swapping mayors?

No. According to Nepos Games' official demo announcement on the Steam store page, the penalty for swapping mayors between settlements was removed in the mayor rebalance. Community guides describe swapping as free in the current build.

Can a mayor's bonuses be negative?

Not anymore. Negative mayor bonuses were removed in the rebalance, so a poorly matched mayor is neutral rather than harmful — but a well-matched one still outperforms them.

What are mayor traits and how do I improve them?

Traits and skills define which building types a mayor boosts. You can improve a mayor with education points, as shown in first-hand demo playthroughs, or simply swap in a candidate whose thumbs-up matches the settlement's production.

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Check note: the core summary of mayor bonuses and free swapping comes from the County of Fortune FAQ — a community-run wiki, so treat its mechanical details as player-reported rather than developer-confirmed. The mayor rebalance, removed penalties and UI changes come from the official Steam page announcements by Nepos Games, and the hands-on detail (thumbs-up fits, house power shifts, education points) comes from the "County of Fortune - Demo Impressions" YouTube playthrough. Exact bonus percentages per trait remain unconfirmed, and mechanics may shift when Early Access begins on 5 November 2026.