Lilliput vs Rutherglen

Lilliput is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 48 in Rutherglen. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Lilliput, most households are couple families. In Rutherglen, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Lilliput tends to suit families with children and couples, while Rutherglen suits people living alone and older residents.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Lilliput carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 50/100)
  • Rutherglen has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Lilliput

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (15% vs 23%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Rutherglen

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $300/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Lilliput

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (288 km vs 296.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Rutherglen

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 11%)
  • But Lilliput carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 50/100)

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Lilliput and Rutherglen drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Lilliput Rutherglen
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Lilliput Rutherglen
Walkability 0 / 0
Lilliput — Walkability: 0/100 Rutherglen — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 88 / 50
Lilliput — Safety: 88/100 Rutherglen — Safety: 50/100
Low fire risk 82 / 81
Lilliput — Low fire risk: 82/100 Rutherglen — Low fire risk: 81/100
Low flood risk 100 / 55
Lilliput — Low flood risk: 100/100 Rutherglen — Low flood risk: 55/100

Demographics

Rutherglen has more residents (2,579 vs 84); Lilliput has higher household incomes ($97,500 vs $67,912).

Lilliput Rutherglen
Population 84 2,579
+2970% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +10.5% +8.5%
Median age 36 48
Median household income $97,500/yr
+30% vs other
 $67,912/yr
Median weekly rent $300/wk
+17% vs other
 $250/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Lilliput Rutherglen
0-4 11.9% / 4.8%
Lilliput — 0-4: 11.9% Rutherglen — 0-4: 4.8%
5-14 20.2% / 11.8%
Lilliput — 5-14: 20.2% Rutherglen — 5-14: 11.8%
15-19 3.6% / 5.5%
Lilliput — 15-19: 3.6% Rutherglen — 15-19: 5.5%
20-24 — / 3.8%
Lilliput — 20-24: not among its largest Rutherglen — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 7.1% / 9.9%
Lilliput — 25-34: 7.1% Rutherglen — 25-34: 9.9%
35-44 7.1% / 10.4%
Lilliput — 35-44: 7.1% Rutherglen — 35-44: 10.4%
45-54 15.5% / 12.2%
Lilliput — 45-54: 15.5% Rutherglen — 45-54: 12.2%
55-64 9.5% / 14.8%
Lilliput — 55-64: 9.5% Rutherglen — 55-64: 14.8%
65-74 10.7% / 15.4%
Lilliput — 65-74: 10.7% Rutherglen — 65-74: 15.4%
75-84 — / 8.3%
Lilliput — 75-84: not among its largest Rutherglen — 75-84: 8.3%
85+ — / 3.1%
Lilliput — 85+: not among its largest Rutherglen — 85+: 3.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Lilliput 60.0% couple families
Lilliput — Couple Families: 60.0% Lilliput — Lone Person: 20.0% Lilliput — One Parent Families: 20.0% Lilliput — Group Household: 0.0% Lilliput — Other Families: 0.0%
Rutherglen 35.4% couple families
Rutherglen — Couple Families: 35.4% Rutherglen — Lone Person: 45.0% Rutherglen — One Parent Families: 15.8% Rutherglen — Group Household: 2.1% Rutherglen — Other Families: 1.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Lilliput 10.3% renting
Lilliput — Owned Outright: 44.8% Lilliput — Mortgage: 44.8% Lilliput — Renting: 10.3%
Rutherglen 19.7% renting
Rutherglen — Owned Outright: 44.5% Rutherglen — Mortgage: 35.9% Rutherglen — Renting: 19.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Lilliput 100.0% houses
Lilliput — Houses: 100.0% Lilliput — Townhouses: 0.0% Lilliput — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Rutherglen 92.5% houses
Rutherglen — Houses: 92.5% Rutherglen — Townhouses: 6.0% Rutherglen — Flats / Apartments: 1.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Lilliput Rutherglen
Certificate III & IV 19.0% / 18.3%
Lilliput — Certificate III & IV: 19.0% Rutherglen — Certificate III & IV: 18.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.5% / 7.8%
Lilliput — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.5% Rutherglen — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8%
Bachelor Degree 7.1% / 9.2%
Lilliput — Bachelor Degree: 7.1% Rutherglen — Bachelor Degree: 9.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4.8% / 2.5%
Lilliput — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.8% Rutherglen — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.5%
Postgraduate Degree — / 2.4%
Lilliput — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest Rutherglen — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).

Property market

Lilliput Rutherglen
Median house price — $555,000
Median unit price — $320,550
Median land price — $265,000
Typical days to sell (houses) — 84 days
from 32 sales

Zoning mix

Lilliput Rutherglen
Rural and farming 97% 89%
Infrastructure and transport 1% 4%
Residential 0% 3%
Parks and recreation 1% 3%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09.

Development activity

Lilliput Rutherglen
New dwellings approved 120
across Indigo
same for both
Approvals change year on year +15%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Lilliput Rutherglen
Houses — 4.1%
$550/wk on $690K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Lilliput Rutherglen
House price — Higher than 20% of VIC
Income Higher than 68% of VIC Higher than 29% of VIC
Schools — Higher than 24% of VIC
Walkability Higher than 4% of VIC Higher than 48% of VIC
Affordability — Higher than 66% of VIC
EV adoption — Higher than 49% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 49% of VIC Higher than 78% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 76% of VIC

Liveability

Lilliput Rutherglen
Grade — D
Score — 28/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 below-average income
decile 3/10

Risk profile

Rutherglen carries more flood risk (45 vs 0); Rutherglen carries more crime risk (50 vs 12).

Lilliput Rutherglen
Bushfire Low
18/100
 Low
19/100
Crime Low
12/100
 Moderate
50/100
Flood None
0/100
 Moderate
45/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
 2
within 5 km

Schools

Lilliput Rutherglen
Inside the suburb 0 3
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 0 1

Schools in Lilliput

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Rutherglen

  • Rutherglen Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • St Mary's School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Rutherglen High School Government · Secondary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Lilliput Rutherglen
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 5
Parks & reserves 4 16
Childcare 0 2
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 2 5

Mobility

Rutherglen sits further from the CBD (296.6 km vs 288 km).

Lilliput Rutherglen
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 288 km 296.6 km
+3% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 192 min 193 min
Electric vehicle share 0.0%
postcode 3682
 0.5%
postcode 3685
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 75
postcode 3682
 67
postcode 3685

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Lilliput Rutherglen
Car (driver) 76.3% / 77.9%
Lilliput — Car (driver): 76.3% Rutherglen — Car (driver): 77.9%
Worked from Home 23.7% / 12.5%
Lilliput — Worked from Home: 23.7% Rutherglen — Worked from Home: 12.5%
Walked Only — / 4.8%
Lilliput — Walked Only: not among its largest Rutherglen — Walked Only: 4.8%
Car (passenger) — / 4.2%
Lilliput — Car (passenger): not among its largest Rutherglen — Car (passenger): 4.2%
Bicycle — / 0.7%
Lilliput — Bicycle: not among its largest Rutherglen — Bicycle: 0.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (77.9%).

Setting

Lilliput Rutherglen
Elevation 163 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 157 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Lilliput Rutherglen
Connectivity score 30/100 67/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
35 premises
 42%
1,370 premises

Climate

Lilliput Rutherglen
Annual rainfall 567 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 2.1°C
same for both

Council rates

Lilliput Rutherglen
Average residential rate $1,828/yr
same for both
Council Indigo
same for both

Federal electorate

Lilliput Rutherglen
Division Indi
same for both
Member Helen Haines
same for both
Party Independent
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Lilliput Rutherglen
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Lilliput

Family Rural Young Families

Rutherglen

Acreage Affordable Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Lilliput

Lilliput vs Chiltern Lilliput vs Springhurst Lilliput vs Norong Lilliput vs Chiltern Valley

Other comparisons with Rutherglen

Rutherglen vs Wahgunyah Rutherglen vs Norong Rutherglen vs Browns Plains Rutherglen vs Cornishtown Rutherglen vs Carlyle Rutherglen vs Chiltern Valley
Full data on Lilliput Full data on Rutherglen
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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