Ruthven vs South Gundurimba

Ruthven is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 47 in South Gundurimba. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Ruthven, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Ruthven: a median of $890,000, against $780,000 in South Gundurimba. On these figures, Ruthven tends to suit families with children and couples, while South Gundurimba suits people living alone.

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

  • Ruthven is already more of a family suburb (86% vs 53%)
  • South Gundurimba carries lower crime risk (44/100 vs 58/100)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Ruthven leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 29%)
  • South Gundurimba has cheaper houses ($780,000 vs $890,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Ruthven

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 22%)

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

Commuting to the city

Ruthven

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (716.2 km vs 722.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

South Gundurimba

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (44/100 vs 58/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 21%)

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

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

Ruthven South Gundurimba
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.

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Walkability 8 / 5
Ruthven — Walkability: 8/100 South Gundurimba — Walkability: 5/100
Safety 42 / 56
Ruthven — Safety: 42/100 South Gundurimba — Safety: 56/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Ruthven — Low fire risk: 100/100 South Gundurimba — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

South Gundurimba has more residents (355 vs 114); Ruthven has higher household incomes ($114,816 vs $71,812).

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Population 114 355
+211% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +10.7% +10.2%
Median age 40 47
Median household income $114,816/yr
+37% vs other
 $71,812/yr
Median weekly rent $313/wk
+4% vs other
 $300/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Ruthven South Gundurimba
0-4 11.4% / 5.1%
Ruthven — 0-4: 11.4% South Gundurimba — 0-4: 5.1%
5-14 14.9% / 14.9%
Ruthven — 5-14: 14.9% South Gundurimba — 5-14: 14.9%
15-19 2.6% / 6.8%
Ruthven — 15-19: 2.6% South Gundurimba — 15-19: 6.8%
20-24 6.1% / 4.2%
Ruthven — 20-24: 6.1% South Gundurimba — 20-24: 4.2%
25-34 12.3% / 5.1%
Ruthven — 25-34: 12.3% South Gundurimba — 25-34: 5.1%
35-44 13.2% / 10.7%
Ruthven — 35-44: 13.2% South Gundurimba — 35-44: 10.7%
45-54 5.3% / 13.8%
Ruthven — 45-54: 5.3% South Gundurimba — 45-54: 13.8%
55-64 14.9% / 14.6%
Ruthven — 55-64: 14.9% South Gundurimba — 55-64: 14.6%
65-74 13.2% / 17.5%
Ruthven — 65-74: 13.2% South Gundurimba — 65-74: 17.5%
75-84 3.5% / 5.9%
Ruthven — 75-84: 3.5% South Gundurimba — 75-84: 5.9%
85+ 4.4% / 3.4%
Ruthven — 85+: 4.4% South Gundurimba — 85+: 3.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Ruthven 71.4% couple families
Ruthven — Couple Families: 71.4% Ruthven — Lone Person: 14.3% Ruthven — One Parent Families: 14.3% Ruthven — Group Household: 0.0%
South Gundurimba 34.3% couple families
South Gundurimba — Couple Families: 34.3% South Gundurimba — Lone Person: 40.7% South Gundurimba — One Parent Families: 18.5% South Gundurimba — Group Household: 6.5%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Ruthven 12.0% renting
Ruthven — Owned Outright: 48.0% Ruthven — Mortgage: 40.0% Ruthven — Renting: 12.0%
South Gundurimba 17.6% renting
South Gundurimba — Owned Outright: 51.9% South Gundurimba — Mortgage: 30.5% South Gundurimba — Renting: 17.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Ruthven 100.0% houses
Ruthven — Houses: 100.0%
South Gundurimba 100.7% houses
South Gundurimba — Houses: 100.7%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Certificate III & IV 20.2% / 19.7%
Ruthven — Certificate III & IV: 20.2% South Gundurimba — Certificate III & IV: 19.7%
Bachelor Degree 9.6% / 9.6%
Ruthven — Bachelor Degree: 9.6% South Gundurimba — Bachelor Degree: 9.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.1% / 6.8%
Ruthven — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.1% South Gundurimba — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.8%
Postgraduate Degree 3.5% / —
Ruthven — Postgraduate Degree: 3.5% South Gundurimba — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

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

Property market

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Median house price $890,000 $780,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price — $120,000

Zoning mix

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Rural and farming 97%
same for both
Environmental 3% 2%
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

Ruthven South Gundurimba
New dwellings approved 138
across Lismore
same for both
Approvals change year on year +0%
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Ruthven South Gundurimba
House price Higher than 42% of NSW Higher than 32% of NSW
Income Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 38% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 53% of NSW Higher than 47% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 80% of NSW Higher than 58% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 58% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 53% of NSW Higher than 55% of NSW

Liveability

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
same for both

Risk profile

Ruthven carries more crime risk (58 vs 44).

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Moderate
58/100
 Moderate
44/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
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

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km None 1
Lismore, 8.5 km

Amenities in the suburb

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Waterways 1
same for both

Mobility

South Gundurimba sits further from the CBD (722.4 km vs 716.2 km).

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Walkability score 8/100 5/100
Distance to Sydney 716.2 km 722.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 466 min 470 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 2480
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 69
postcode 2480
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.

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Car (driver) 77.3% / 65.4%
Ruthven — Car (driver): 77.3% South Gundurimba — Car (driver): 65.4%
Worked from Home 15.9% / 26.8%
Ruthven — Worked from Home: 15.9% South Gundurimba — Worked from Home: 26.8%
Walked Only 6.8% / 5.2%
Ruthven — Walked Only: 6.8% South Gundurimba — Walked Only: 5.2%
Car (passenger) — / 2.6%
Ruthven — Car (passenger): not among its largest South Gundurimba — Car (passenger): 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (77.3%).

Setting

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Elevation 18 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 5 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 21.1 km 25.5 km

NBN connectivity

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Connectivity score 30/100
same for both
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
44 premises
 0%
153 premises

Council rates

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Average residential rate $1,487/yr
same for both
Council Lismore
same for both

Federal electorate

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Division Page
same for both
Member Kevin Hogan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Ruthven South Gundurimba
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Ruthven

Family Rural Young Families

South Gundurimba

Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Ruthven

Ruthven vs Coraki Ruthven vs Tucki Tucki Ruthven vs Codrington

Other comparisons with South Gundurimba

South Gundurimba vs Caniaba South Gundurimba vs Wyrallah South Gundurimba vs McKees Hill South Gundurimba vs Loftville South Gundurimba vs Monaltrie South Gundurimba vs Tatham
Full data on Ruthven Full data on South Gundurimba
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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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