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The following page lists all Vault-Tec Corporation Vault series shelters and facilities inspired by them.

Starting Vaults[]

The player character starts in a Vault in four of the six main games in the series:

In Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, the player characters (Chosen One and the Courier) start in the wasteland, receiving a Vault jumpsuit in the beginning.

The only other game where the player character had no connection to Vaults was Fallout Tactics: The Warrior was a wasteland recruit. In the canceled Van Buren, the player character, the Prisoner, would have begun the game wearing the prison jumpsuit from Tibbets Prison.

Vaults in canonical materials[]

While marketed as nuclear shelters to save a portion of the American population from nuclear war, Vaults were actually a grand social experiment, each with a specific data-gathering purpose in mind. This plan would enable the American civilization to endure, sacrificing some of their dwellers in secret tests. The data would be collected by the Enclave,[1] and used to create a multi-generational starship in order to colonize a new planet, as the initial assumption by the Enclave was that Earth would be rendered uninhabitable by nuclear war.[Non-game 1]

Name Location Purpose Additional details Title
Vault 3 Las Vegas, Nevada
(New Vegas, Mojave Wasteland)
Control Vault Inhabitants chose to remain in isolation for over a century until a water leak forced them to open for trade; Vault was subsequently massacred and taken over by the Fiends Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 4 Unknown Unknown - Fallout TV series
Vault 8 Northwestern Nevada
(Vault City, New California)
Control Vault Inhabitants left on-schedule and used their G.E.C.K. to establish Vault City Fallout 2
Vault 11 Mojave Desert, Nevada
(Mojave Wasteland)
Social experiment studying a population's willingness to sacrifice individuals for the safety of the majority, using falsified threats of collective punishment Inhabitants initially used elections to select sacrifices; attempted coup after the practice was abolished resulted in the deaths of most inhabitants Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 12 Bakersfield, California
(Necropolis, New California)
Medical experiment studying the effects of gradual radiation exposure; door was designed not to seal correctly Inhabitants became ghouls and founded the city of Necropolis Fallout
Vault 13 Mt. Whitney, Sequoia National Park/Inyo National Forest[citation needed], California
(New California)
Control Vault Inhabitants chose to remain in isolation until a water chip failure forced them to send the Vault Dweller for a replacement. Schism caused by the Vault Dweller resulted in many inhabitants leaving; survivors were killed or kidnapped by the Enclave Fallout
Fallout 2
Vault 15 Southern California
(New California)
Social experiment in which a large population from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds were forced to live together; Vault's opening was intentionally delayed by several decades Schism among the inhabitants led to the formation of three raider gangs from exiled inhabitants (Khans, Jackals, and Vipers). Remaining inhabitants formed Shady Sands Fallout
Fallout 2
Vault 17 West Coast Unknown Inhabitants were kidnapped and transformed into super mutants by the Unity Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 19 Mojave Desert, Nevada
(Mojave Wasteland)
Social experiment studying effects of factionalism and means to induce paranoia and mistrust; inhabitants divided into rival "Blue" and "Red" sectors Inhabitants subjected to subliminal messaging and faked acts of sabotage; many developed symptoms of psychosis. Ultimate fate of inhabitants is unknown; Vault was eventually occupied by Powder Gangers Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 21 Las Vegas, Nevada
(The Strip, New Vegas, Mojave Wasteland)
Social experiment studying the effects of excessive gambling; all disputes were to be resolved through games of chance Inhabitants maintained a stable community until 2274, when Robert House successfully won ownership of the Vault in a game of blackjack and converted it into a hotel Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 22 Mojave Desert, Nevada
(Mojave Wasteland)
Research facility studying and creating genetically modified crops and flora Genetically modified fungal infection transformed inhabitants into spore carriers Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 29 West Coast Social experiment. Of the affluent population selected,[2] no assigned dweller was over the age of 15 upon entry, with parents redirected to other Vaults. [Non-game 2] Harold is believed to come from this Vault.[Non-game 2] Fallout 76
Van Buren
Vault 32 Unknown Unknown - Fallout TV series
Vault 33 Santa Monica,[Non-game 3] Los Angeles, California Unknown Unknown Fallout TV series
Vault 34 Mojave Desert, Nevada
(Mojave Wasteland)
Social experiment in which inhabitants were provided access to an overstocked armory with no security measures Inhabitants manually installed locks on armory and restricted access to Vault Security; schism over these measures led a group to leave and form the Boomers tribe. Reactor leak caused by a civil uprising led to the death or ghoulification of most inhabitants Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 51 Northwestern West Virginia
(The Forest, Appalachia)
Social experiment in which a ZAX AI was tasked with selecting an ideal overseer from Vault population ZAX began manufacturing crises to test the abilities of inhabitants; the crises eventually escalated to lethal threats, then direct manipulation encouraging the remaining inhabitants to kill one another Fallout 76
Vault 63 Southwest of Lewisburg, West Virginia
(Ash Heap, Appalachia)
Unknown Vault remains inaccessible Fallout 76
Vault 75 Malden Middle School, Malden, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Social and medical experiment, in which a eugenics program was used to breed young inhabitants into perfect soldiers Test subjects eventually revolted against researchers; Vault was eventually occupied by Gunners Fallout 4
Vault 76 North of Flatwoods, West Virginia
(The Forest, Appalachia)
Control Vault Inhabitants became instrumental in the reconstruction of Appalachia and the eradication of the Scorched Plague Fallout 76
Vault 77 Unknown Unknown An unknown inhabitant was feared to the point of superstition by the slavers of Paradise Falls Fallout 3
Vault 79 North of Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia
(Savage Divide, Appalachia)
Secret Service facility intended to house the United States gold reserves Reactor leak killed or ghoulified most agents assigned to the Vault; survivors were rescued by the residents of Vault 76 during an attempted heist of the gold reserves Fallout 76
Vault 81 Boston, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Research facility; scientists in a secret sector of the Vault would work to develop a universal disease cure via experiments on an unwitting civilian population Operations sabotaged by Overseer due to moral objections; researchers were sealed within their section of the Vault with no means of escape or contact. Researchers continued work by experimenting on mole rats and eventually perished; civilian section of the Vault maintained a stable community and remains inhabited Fallout 4
Vault 87 Northeastern Virginia
(Capital Wasteland)
Research facility studying the effects of the Forced Evolutionary Virus on humans; civilian population was used as test subjects Inhabitants were transformed into super mutants and seized control of the Vault Fallout 3
Vault 88 Northwest of Quincy, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Testing facility for experimental productivity-boosting equipment to be used in other Vaults Vault's construction was never completed. Overseer Valery Barstow became a ghoul and eventually recruited the Sole Survivor to help complete the Vault's experiments Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop
Vault 92 Olney, Maryland
(Capital Wasteland)
Medical experiment testing means to induce aggression using white noise Inhabitants were driven insane and eventually killed one another. Vault later became infested with bloatflies and mirelurks Fallout 3
Vault 94 North of Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia
(The Mire, Appalachia)
Social experiment testing the viability of pacifist belief systems in post-apocalyptic conditions; all inhabitants were members of a nonviolent religious community save a single Vault-Tec employee Vault-Tec observer confessed to the experiment and urged inhabitants to arm themselves for safety purposes. This advice was ignored, and the Vault was eventually massacred by paranoid outsiders. Damage to the Vault's G.E.C.K. sustained in the massacre created the Mire Fallout 76
Vault 95 Southeast of Natick, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Social and medical experiment in which addicts were given experimental rehabilitation treatments and encouraged to remain clean, then informed of a secret stash of chems Inhabitants initially recovered from addictions, but rapidly descended into violence once informed of the secret stash. Vault was eventually occupied by the Gunners Fallout 4
Vault 96 South of Spruce Knob Campground, West Virginia
(Savage Divide, Appalachia)
Research facility intended to monitor and study mutated wildlife, using genetic engineering to develop anti-mutant countermeasures. Staffed by only five individuals Automated security measures threatened to execute inhabitants if they failed to meet quotas due to secretive and unethical nature of research. Inhabitants eventually attempted to sabotage security systems and escape, but failed and were killed. Test subjects eventually began to escape the facility Fallout 76
Vault 101 West of Springvale, Virginia
(Capital Wasteland)
Social experiment in which Overseers were granted unlimited authority over a Vault intended to remain closed indefinitely Overseer Alphonse Almodovar eventually began to send secret scouting parties into surrounding wasteland and recruited an outsider, James, as doctor. Vault eventually fell into civil war after James and the Lone Wanderer escaped Fallout 3
Vault 106 Northeastern Virginia
(Capital Wasteland)
Medical experiment studying effects of psychoactive drugs released via air filtration systems Population erupted in violence after drugs were released; ultimate fate of inhabitants is unknown. Drugs remained in air supply for 200 years, causing insanity and hallucinations in survivors who entered Fallout Bible
Fallout 3
Vault 108 North of Washington, D.C., Maryland
(Capital Wasteland)
Social experiment studying effects of leadership conflicts: most management positions were to be filled by a terminally ill Overseer upon entry, power systems were designed to fail after 20 years, no entertainment was provided, and armory was provided triple the standard ordnance In addition to stated purpose, Vault was also provided with a cloning device. A single inhabitant, Gary, was cloned repeatedly; clones eventually turned violent and overran the Vault Fallout 3
Vault 111 Sanctuary Hills, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Medical experiment studying long-term effects of cryogenic stasis on unwitting subjects All-clear signal was never recieved, resulting in a coup by Vault Security and the abandonment of the Vault. One test subject, an infant named Shaun, was extracted from stasis and kidnapped by Institute agents; remaining subjects died due to power failure save for a Sole Survivor Fallout 4
Vault 112 Smith Casey's garage, Virginia
(Capital Wasteland)
Social experiment in which inhabitants were placed in a virtual reality simulation controlled by the Overseer Experiment was designed by Overseer Stanislaus Braun for his own psychotic amusement; after entry Braun tortured the inhabitants for centuries Fallout 3
Vault 114 Boston, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Social experiment in which wealthy inhabitants would be stripped of luxury and forced to live in cramped squalor under an incompetent Overseer Vault was never completed, possibly due to contract fraud and/or embezzlement. Construction site was eventually taken over by Skinny Malone's triggermen outfit Fallout 4
Vault 118 Cliff's Edge Hotel, Mount Desert Island, Maine
(The Island)
Social experiment in which 10 wealthy residents would live in luxury while 300 impoverished residents lived in squalor, with wealthy residents granted total authority "Lower class" section of the Vault was never completed due to embezzlement of construction funds. Inhabitants of the "luxury" section eventually transferred themselves into robobrains to achieve immortality, and continue to occupy the Vault Fallout 4: Far Harbor
Harold's Vault Unknown Unknown Harold recalls having grown up in a vault, but is unable to remember its location or what it was like Fallout
Bruiser's Vault East Coast Unknown Bruiser mentions having come from a vault, and describes its residents having played a gladiatorial sport similar to American Football Fallout 76

Related facilities[]

This section lists facilities that use Vault-Tec technologies but are not an actual, Vault-Tec Vaulttm shelter.

Name Location and construction Purpose Additional details Game
Los Angeles Demonstration Vault Los Angeles, California
(Boneyard, New California)
Public demonstration facility Sturdy construction allowed for use as a legitimate shelter by locals. Later converted into the headquarters of the Unity, then destroyed via nuclear detonation by the Vault Dweller Fallout
Securitron vault Fortification Hill, Arizona
(The Fort, Mojave Wasteland)
Private facility owned by Robert House, housing an army of securitrons Facility fell into disrepair after the war; exterior bunker was eventually discovered and occupied by Caesar's Legion Fallout: New Vegas
Vault-Tec's "Vault of Tomorrow" Museum of Technology, The Mall, Washington D.C.
(Capital Wasteland)
Sponsored museum exhibit Publicity piece encouraging visitors to purchase admittance to Vault-Tec shelters; visitors were provided an automated tour of a typical Vault Fallout 3
Vault-Tec: Among the Stars Nuka-World, Massachusetts Sponsored amusement park attraction Publicity piece promoting the idea that Vault-Tec technologies could be applied to space colonization. Visitors explored a hypothetical Vault-Tec space colony dubbed "Arcturus-I"; experiments were secretly conducted on both visitors and staff Fallout 4: Nuka-World
Vault-Tec University Simulation Vault Morgantown, West Virginia
(The Forest, Appalachia)
Training facility for Vault-Tec employees Trainees would be locked inside for simulation exercises; facility was in use by a class when the bombs fell. Inhabitants eventually starved due to lack of food supplies Fallout 76
The Whitespring bunker The Whitespring, West Virginia
(Savage Divide, Appalachia)
Continuity of Government facility Intended to house members of congress and the executive branch; Enclave personnel planted within the bunker's security executed all non-Enclave officials upon entry and established the facility as their regional headquarters Fallout 76
Makeshift vault Northwest of Grafton, West Virginia
(Toxic Valley, Appalachia)
Unlicensed facility Facility was constructed by former Vault-Tec employees using stolen equipment after being informed of their status as "unessential" personnel. Fate of original inhabitants is unknown; facility was eventually taken over by the Crater War Party and later the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force Fallout 76

Vaults in supplementary materials[]

Name Purpose Additional details Game
Vault 27 Deliberately overcrowded; 2000 people would be assigned to enter, double the total sustainable amount N/A Fallout Bible
Vault 36 Food extruders were designed to produce only a thin, watery gruel N/A Fallout Bible
Vault 42 No light bulbs of more than 40 watts were provided N/A Fallout Bible
Vault 43 Social experiment in which 20 men and 10 women would be forced to live alongside a live panther N/A One Man, and a Crate of Puppets
Vault 53 Most of the equipment was designed to break down every few months. While repairable, the breakdowns were intended to stress the inhabitants unduly N/A Fallout Bible
Vault 55 No entertainment tapes were provided N/A Fallout Bible
Vault 56 The only entertainment tapes provided were the works of a particularly untalented comedian Vault society was anticipated to collapse far earlier than Vault 55 Fallout Bible
Vault 68 Of the one thousand people who entered, there was only one woman N/A Fallout Bible
Vault 69 Of the one thousand people who entered, there was only one man N/A Fallout Bible
One Man, and a Crate of Puppets
Vault 70 Social experiment in which jumpsuit extruders would fail after 6 months, drastically reducing clothing availability. Vault was to play a major role in Interplay Entertainment's cancelled version of Fallout 3, known internally as Van Buren. For details on the Vault's Van Buren iteration, see "Non-canon Vaults." Fallout Bible
Vault 77 Social experiment in which a single person inhabited the vault alone with a crate of puppets. Inhabitant eventually went insane and developed split personalities based on the puppets One Man, and a Crate of Puppets

Vaults in other properties[]

Name Purpose Additional details Game
Vault 7 Unknown[clarification needed] Unknown[clarification needed] Fallout: New California
Vault 44 Contained a hidden sector where scientists performed experiments on dangerous creatures Excessive power usage by hidden sector led to failure of numerous Vault systems and the death of all inhabitants. Lab animals continue to inhabit Vault, feeding on spoiled food stores Fallout: New California
Vault 84 Every year, a vote is held to exile a dweller deemed the most dangerous to the Vault Vault maintained a stable society and remains inhabited Fallout: The Board Game
Vault 109 A high-class, "fancy" Vault filled with products from Mary May, Ticknor and Fields and Fallon's Inhabitants initially maintained trade with Vault 84, but died after the facility became flooded with radiation Fallout: The Board Game

Non-canon Vaults[]

This section covers Vaults found in games ejected from the continuity, in concept art, in cross-promotional materials, or in cut content.

Name Location and construction Purpose Details Game
Cut content, concept art, and development leftovers
Vault 10 Unknown Unknown Vault was never implemented; only concept art of its jumpsuit exists The Art of Fallout 4
Vault 24 Unknown Unknown Vault was cut during development; only an unused jumpsuit item remains in the game files Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 65 Unknown Unknown Vault was created very early in development; textured assets and a functional level containing numerous feral ghoul spawns can be found in the game files. The Vault's editor ID labels it as "Vault 75", suggesting it may have been a design prototype Fallout 76
Vault 74 Unknown Unknown Vault was created by Bethesda as a tutorial for Fallout 3's modding tools; the level was imported to Fallout: New Vegas at some point in development and never removed Fallout: New Vegas
Vault 100 Unknown Unknown Vault was cut during development, only an unused inventory icon for its jumpsuit remains in the game files Fallout 3
Vault 113 Unknown Unknown Vault was cut during development; only an unused texture of its welcome sign remains in the game files Fallout 4
Vault 117 Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Unknown Vault was cut during development; an early map of the game world shows it located just north of Jamaica Plain Fallout 4
Vault 120 Atlantic Ocean, Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Unknown Vault would have been constructed underwater. A cut quest would have involved a giant mutant octopus attacking the Vault Fallout 4
Vault 121 Massachusetts
(The Commonwealth)
Unknown Vault was cut during development; an early map of the game world shows its location roughly corresponded with Vault 95 Fallout 4
Burkittsville Vault Burkittsville, Maryland
(Capital Wasteland)
Unknown Cut terminal entries at Hamilton's hideaway would have indicated that a group of cannibals set up camp outside the vault shortly after the war, to ambush survivors seeking entrance Fallout 3
Non-canon games
Vault 0 Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
(The Belt)
Command and control facility monitoring the Vault Experiments. Managed by the Calculator, an AI supercomputer using the brains of America's greatest geniuses as processors and personality templates Budget cuts resulted in substandard components being used in the Calculator; series of malfunctions occurred as a result, leading the AI to become genocidal Fallout Tactics
Vault prototype Texas Prototype facility Facility was eventually taken over by the Brotherhood of Steel's Texas Expedition for use as a headquarters Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Corporate Vault Los, Texas Private shelter for Vault-Tec employees and scientists, to continue experimentation post-war Facility was eventually taken over by the Attis Army, who used samples of FEV stored within to begin manufacturing super mutants. Facility was subsequently destroyed via nuclear detonation by the Initiate Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Unreleased games
Vault 1 Midwest Unknown Vault appeared in the Van Buren tech demo Van Buren
Vault 6 Mt. St. Helens, Washington Medical experiment in which small amounts of radiation were leaked into the Vault each day Vault was described in Fallout Extreme design documents as being overrun with feral ghouls Fallout Extreme
Vault 39 Abilene, Texas Unknown Vault was described in Brotherhood of Steel 2 design documents as overgrown with mutated plants due to experiments by the game's antagonist Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2
Vault 70 Salt Lake City, Utah Social experiment in which jumpsuit extruders would fail after 6 months, drastically reducing clothing availability. Majority of inhabitants were members of the local Mormon congregation Vault was described in Van Buren design documents as the origin for the settlements of New Jerusalem and New Canaan. Van Buren

Interactive map[]

Note, the following map uses an existing 1959 AGS map as base for ease of browsing and orientation.


Behind the scenes[]

Other
  • Numbers 101 and 111 are 5 and 7 in binary respectively. Fallout 3 was the fifth video game in the series to be released (counting Fallout Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel), while Fallout 4 was the seventh (after Fallout: New Vegas).

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Dick Richardson: "{220}{prs34}{Well, no. No... not quite. You see, we had planned ahead. We were ready. }"
    The Chosen One: "{221}{}{What do you mean?}"
    Dick Richardson: "{222}{prs35}{We had a number of sanctuaries that would enable the glorious American civilization to endure. These facilities - the Vaults - were part of the great plan.}"
    The Chosen One: "{223}{}{Those damn Vaults didn't work the way they were supposed to. A lot of people in them died.}"
    Dick Richardson: "{224}{prs36}{Actually, they worked almost exactly the way they were supposed to. You might call it a social experiment on a grand scale. }"
    The Chosen One: "{225}{}{An experiment?}"
    Dick Richardson: "{226}{prs36a}{The Vaults were set up to test humanity. Some had not enough food synthesizers, others had only men in them, yet others were designed to open after only 6 months. They each had a unique set of circumstances designed to test the occupants.}"
    The Chosen One: "{227}{}{What about Vault 13? What was it's purpose?}"
    Dick Richardson: "{228}{prs37}{Ahh. Vault 13 was a special case. It was supposed to remain closed until the subjects were needed. Vault 13 was, in scientific parlance, a control group.}"
    The Chosen One: "{229}{}{But they would all have died if my ancestor didn't get them a replacement water chip. That doesn't seem to fit in with your plan.}"
    Dick Richardson: "{230}{prs38}{An unfortunate, and unforeseen, accident. However, as it turns out, a rather fortuitous one.}"
    The Chosen One: "{231}{}{What do you mean?}"
    Dick Richardson: "{232}{prs39}{As it turns out we needed test subjects from untainted, pre-war, human stock - your ancestors in Vault 13 - and some freshly mutated stock - the villagers from Arroyo.}"
    The Chosen One: "{233}{}{Why?}"
    Dick Richardson: "{234}{prs39a}{For the Project. It's almost ready. Humanity's salvation is almost at hand and the United States of America will be the progenitor of that rebirth.}"
    The Chosen One: "{235}{}{Rebirth? What do you mean?}"
    (Dick Richardson's dialogue)
  2. Last day of school

Non-game

  1. Cain on Games, The True Purpose of Vaults in Fallout
  2. 2.0 2.1 List of Vaults and their experiments (Fallout Bible): "Vault 29: No one in this Vault was over the age of 15 when they entered. Parents were redirected to other Vaults on purpose. Harold is believed to have come from this Vault. "
  3. Fallout - A Special LIVE Report from Galaxy News news ticker: "Vault-Tec announces completion of Vault 33 under Santa Monica, CA""
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