Lismore vs Mount Bute
Mount Bute is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 52 in Lismore. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Lismore, most households are people living alone. On these figures, Lismore tends to suit people living alone, while Mount Bute suits families with children.
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
- Lismore has more parks and reserves (6 vs 1)
- Mount Bute is already more of a family suburb (60% vs 36%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Mount Bute
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (4% vs 18%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Mount Bute
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (8% vs 16%)
- has cheaper rent ($126/wk vs $140/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Lismore
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (166.9 km vs 169.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Too close to call
Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Lismore
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (12.4% vs 5.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Lismore and Mount Bute drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Lismore has more residents (472 vs 61); Mount Bute has higher household incomes ($86,112 vs $45,916).
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 472 +87% vs other | 61 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +12.4% | +5.2% |
| Median age | 52 | 40 |
| Median household income | $45,916/yr | $86,112/yr +88% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $140/wk +10% vs other | $126/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.4%).
Property market
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $297,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $128,500 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 21 days from 7 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 91% | 100% |
| Parks and recreation | 8% | 0% |
| 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
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 60 across Corangamite same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +117% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 2% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 6% of VIC | Higher than 56% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 6% of VIC | Higher than 53% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 97% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | — same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 50% of VIC | Higher than 29% of VIC |
Liveability
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Mount Bute carries more bushfire risk (46 vs 36).
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 36/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 54/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Flood | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Lismore
- Lismore Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Mount Bute
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 3 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 6 | 1 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 20 | 3 |
Mobility
Mount Bute sits further from the CBD (169.1 km vs 166.9 km).
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 166.9 km | 169.1 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 124 min | 128 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 3324 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 36 postcode 3324 same for both | |
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (66.7%).
Setting
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 145 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 228 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 26/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 315 premises | 0% 19 premises |
Climate
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 602 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,335/yr same for both | |
| Council | Corangamite same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Lismore | Mount Bute | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Lismore
Mount Bute
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.