Norong vs Rutherglen

Norong is the younger of the two, with a median age of 45 against 48 in Rutherglen. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Norong, most households are couple families. In Rutherglen, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Norong tends to suit families with children and couples, while Rutherglen suits 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

Rutherglen

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (16 vs 2)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
  • But Norong is already more of a family suburb (60% vs 51%)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

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

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Norong

ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (11% vs 19%)
  • has cheaper rent ($210/wk vs $250/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Norong

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (292.6 km vs 296.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Rutherglen

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 8%)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)

Weighs smaller dwellings, 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

Norong 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.

Norong 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.

Norong Rutherglen
Walkability 0 / 0
Norong — Walkability: 0/100 Rutherglen — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 41 / 50
Norong — Safety: 41/100 Rutherglen — Safety: 50/100
Low fire risk 100 / 81
Norong — Low fire risk: 100/100 Rutherglen — Low fire risk: 81/100
Low flood risk 19 / 55
Norong — Low flood risk: 19/100 Rutherglen — Low flood risk: 55/100

Demographics

Rutherglen has more residents (2,579 vs 130); Norong has higher household incomes ($97,500 vs $67,912).

Norong Rutherglen
Population 130 2,579
+1884% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +10.2% +8.5%
Median age 45 48
Median household income $97,500/yr
+30% vs other
 $67,912/yr
Median weekly rent $210/wk $250/wk
+19% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Norong Rutherglen
0-4 5.4% / 4.8%
Norong — 0-4: 5.4% Rutherglen — 0-4: 4.8%
5-14 15.4% / 11.8%
Norong — 5-14: 15.4% Rutherglen — 5-14: 11.8%
15-19 8.5% / 5.5%
Norong — 15-19: 8.5% Rutherglen — 15-19: 5.5%
20-24 2.3% / 3.8%
Norong — 20-24: 2.3% Rutherglen — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 9.2% / 9.9%
Norong — 25-34: 9.2% Rutherglen — 25-34: 9.9%
35-44 13.8% / 10.4%
Norong — 35-44: 13.8% Rutherglen — 35-44: 10.4%
45-54 26.2% / 12.2%
Norong — 45-54: 26.2% Rutherglen — 45-54: 12.2%
55-64 16.2% / 14.8%
Norong — 55-64: 16.2% Rutherglen — 55-64: 14.8%
65-74 5.4% / 15.4%
Norong — 65-74: 5.4% Rutherglen — 65-74: 15.4%
75-84 2.3% / 8.3%
Norong — 75-84: 2.3% Rutherglen — 75-84: 8.3%
85+ — / 3.1%
Norong — 85+: not among its largest Rutherglen — 85+: 3.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (26.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Norong 60.0% couple families
Norong — Couple Families: 60.0% Norong — Lone Person: 40.0% Norong — One Parent Families: 0.0% Norong — Group Household: 0.0% Norong — 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.

Norong 0.0% renting
Norong — Owned Outright: 54.1% Norong — Mortgage: 45.9% Norong — Renting: 0.0%
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.

Norong 95.7% houses
Norong — Houses: 95.7% Norong — Townhouses: 0.0% Norong — Flats / Apartments: 4.3%
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.

Norong Rutherglen
Certificate III & IV 16.9% / 18.3%
Norong — Certificate III & IV: 16.9% Rutherglen — Certificate III & IV: 18.3%
Bachelor Degree 10.0% / 9.2%
Norong — Bachelor Degree: 10.0% Rutherglen — Bachelor Degree: 9.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.9% / 7.8%
Norong — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.9% Rutherglen — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8%
Postgraduate Degree 3.1% / 2.4%
Norong — Postgraduate Degree: 3.1% Rutherglen — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 2.5%
Norong — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Rutherglen — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.3%).

Property market

Norong 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

Norong Rutherglen
Rural and farming 95% 89%
Parks and recreation 4% 3%
Infrastructure and transport 1% 4%
Residential 0% 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

Norong 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.

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

Ranking within VIC

Norong Rutherglen
House price — Higher than 20% of VIC
Income Higher than 70% of VIC Higher than 29% of VIC
Schools — Higher than 24% of VIC
Walkability Higher than 59% of VIC Higher than 48% of VIC
Affordability — Higher than 66% of VIC
EV adoption — Higher than 49% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 46% of VIC Higher than 78% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 76% of VIC

Liveability

Norong 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 bushfire risk (19 vs 0); Norong carries more flood risk (81 vs 45).

Norong Rutherglen
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
19/100
Crime Moderate
59/100
 Moderate
50/100
Flood High
81/100
 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

Norong 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 Norong

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

Norong Rutherglen
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 5
Parks & reserves 2 16
Childcare 0 2
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 6 5

Mobility

Rutherglen sits further from the CBD (296.6 km vs 292.6 km).

Norong Rutherglen
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 292.6 km 296.6 km
+1% 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.

Norong Rutherglen
Car (driver) 64.9% / 77.9%
Norong — Car (driver): 64.9% Rutherglen — Car (driver): 77.9%
Worked from Home 25.7% / 12.5%
Norong — Worked from Home: 25.7% Rutherglen — Worked from Home: 12.5%
Car (passenger) 5.4% / 4.2%
Norong — Car (passenger): 5.4% Rutherglen — Car (passenger): 4.2%
Walked Only 4.1% / 4.8%
Norong — Walked Only: 4.1% Rutherglen — Walked Only: 4.8%
Bicycle — / 0.7%
Norong — Bicycle: not among its largest Rutherglen — Bicycle: 0.7%

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

Setting

Norong Rutherglen
Elevation 144 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 157 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Norong Rutherglen
Connectivity score 29/100 67/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
48 premises
 42%
1,370 premises

Climate

Norong Rutherglen
Annual rainfall 540 mm 567 mm
Summer max (Jan) 32.0°C 31.7°C
Winter min (Jul) 3.4°C 2.1°C

Council rates

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

Federal electorate

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

First Home Owner Grant

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

Tags

Norong

Rural

Rutherglen

Acreage Affordable Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Norong

Norong vs Springhurst Norong vs Lilliput Norong vs Brimin Norong vs Peechelba East Norong vs Boorhaman North

Other comparisons with Rutherglen

Rutherglen vs Wahgunyah Rutherglen vs Browns Plains Rutherglen vs Cornishtown Rutherglen vs Lilliput Rutherglen vs Carlyle Rutherglen vs Chiltern Valley
Full data on Norong 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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